Newbi seeking advise - why tubed pre-amp?

Well a lot of us think that tubes, whether they be in a preamp, amp, or dac, don't necessarily add colorations or distortions. Personally I think a well executed tube circuit, a la my Supratek preamp or Cary amps, is inherently more linear than SS and as an added bonus it sounds a lot better. You really ought to try it some time, you might like it. Really.

"it sounds a lot better" That is why!

For many of us, the only reason to not use tubes is if we have large, inefficient, power hungry speakers. Even then, if we have lots of money, we still buy tubed products! Of course, on a budget, the hybrid integrateds work really well.

You sound like you've never heard the huge soundstage a good tube amplifier can provide; visit your nearby dealer (Conrad-Johnson, or even Jolida) and have a listen. If you're not impressed, or listen exclusively to R&R, then your choices are simplified.

Otherwise, there's nothing like the wonderful sound of tubes.

However, even rock music sounds great with a tube system with a little bit of cojones.

I started in the same place about 8 years ago. I had a Parasound amp running off of a Sony ES receiver. I got that Sony out and put a Conrad Johnson PV-10AL in there, and I was in heaven (for a little while, at least).

That was about the time I stopped looking at specs alltogether.

Try something in your home, if at all possible, and I'd recommend either a tube pre and a solid state amp, or hybrid integrated with ss amp stage and tube pre stage.

I had a Unison Research SR-1 hybrid integrated that was absolutely badass, however I preferred an all-tube design.

Check out the SR-1, on Upscale Audio's website here, it's so cool.
http://www.upscaleaudio.com/updates/sr1.htm
very highly recommended by me.

The Pathos Classic One hybrid gets a lot of good press, here it is:
http://www.pathosacoustics.com/indexeng.htm
Never heard one, but it is a Stereophool "Class A" integrated, if that matters to you.

I use a Rogue Tempest, however it has a lot more tubes to deal with, but it is an auto bias design, meaning that you don't have to fiddle with tubes as much as with some other amps. I love it. Really. LOVE.

I have listened to Jolidas and enjoyed them, but since they must be user-biased (I think, someone correct me if I'm wrong) and there is a TON of difference among sound quality of their products (Probably attributable to the difference in power tubes used), I wouldn't recommend them for a first foray into tubes. BUT, I've never owned, just borrowed, so I'm not the person to ask about Jolida.

There are a ton of rediculously inexpensive import tube amps and preamps around here, for some reason, however, I have no experience with any of it (Cayin, Consonance, Radii, others). If it were me, I'd stick to a well established company with a good service record, and a repair facility in the US that's been the same for a while.
I'd hate for you to get a bad taste in your mouth regarding reliability issues of tubed equipment solely because you might not have gotten a well-executed piece.

Whatever you decide, try to get something, ANYTHING into your house. Listen. I think you'll agree that there is something magical about tubes.

good luck.