Tube amp / SS pre or SS amp / Tube pre?

How about a CD player with a tubed output stage? I'm not a fan of SS amp w/tube preamps, too much of a compromise and the worst of each setup is often emphasized, at least in my experience. A good tube CD player can you the magic of each without making so many tradeoffs.

I think the question is a little too simplistic. While the general feedback provided is probably correct, there are many other factors to consider.

Which tube amp would you consider? Alot of tube amps are designed primarily for high efficiency speakers. If you want something to potentially improve on your Levinsons, you may need to change speakers to expand the pool of canidates further than the big ARCs, VTLs, Atma-Spheres, etc.

With a tube preamp, you can get a taste of tubes without worrying about your speakers. As others mentioned, you do need to check compatibility with the amp, but this may not limit you as much.

From a practical standpoint, tubes are more of a hassle then SS (recurring cost, reliability, noise, heat, availability, etc). However, tubes in the preamp seem to have less of these issues, so this may also tilt things for you in favor of trying a tube preamp.

Frankly, since your happy with your SS system now, I wouldn't recommend changing to tubes. There is no guarantee you will be happier just because you now have tubes. I respect what tubes bring to the table and some people's preferences, but "tubes don't always rule." I've always thought that if you can get happy with a state of-the-art SS setup, then why bother changing to tubes. You may notice some benefits, but I bet you also find some tradeoffs too.

There is not a prevailing opinion on SS-Tube combinations. I seen a fair share discussion on this, and what combination prevails is the opposite of what prevailed before. Cases can be made for any combo, but the best combo at the ultimate price, imo, is tubepre w/ tube amp.

Labtec and Ohlala, brings up some good points. Many prefer to use a tube pre with a solid power amp. This is due to costs, heat dissipation and trying to make the most of the typical advantages and minimize the typical diadvantages of tubes and solid state. Everything posted so far is true, it's a big picture to view. As for running a tube CD player into a solid state amp, you usually end up with impedance challanges that limit choices of compatable ss amps. The advantage is a simpler less expensive signal path. Other disadvantages include limited selection of CD players and often limited or non-existant switching capability.

Others have made very good points about the relative merits and potential hassles of the configurations discussed. Another possible alternative is a hybrid amp, which adds (if properly chosen) tube qualities without the need for mating with highly sensitive speakers. Tube replacement/rolling, as with tubed preamps, is relatively inexpensive. My system currently has a solid state preamp with a hybrid amp and I like the synergy. I did later change to a tube DAC for a touch more warmth. There are lots of ways to achieve the synergy you're after.