If I'm looking for "Tube Sound", why would I put a Tube Pre in front of a SS amp?

The truth is that a tube pre cannot give you the tube sound If you use a SS power amp. The tubes advantages are 3D imaging, openness, soundstaging, and presence. The disadvantage is a coloring of the sound. If you use a SS power amp only a tiny fraction of the tube advantages + all of the disadvantages remain. If you want to have a tube like sound with a SS amp you have to use a single ended class a amp (sugden, first watt)

Very nicely stated and great advice cdk84.

Has anyone in this thread addressed preamp-power amp electrical compatibility? This interface is also important, like the power-amp/speaker interface. Solid state amps tend to have lower input and output impedances than tubed units. Your preamp's output impedance should be at least 10 times lower than the input impedance it sees in the power amp. Other things being equal, this would favor a transistor preamp into a tube power amp, unless the tube preamp's designer has taken steps to lower the output impedance to where it will work with the lower input impedance of a solid state power amp. There are many exceptions. I have one ss power amp with a 100k input which is similar to a tube amp I have. Check your specifications, people. You need to have good electrical matches between all components before assessing sound quality or comparing "tube" vs. transistor sound. 

Atmasphere, I'm not so naïve to think that that type of behavior hasn't been considered before or even after, but as my Jewish friends might exclaim; "What hutzpah!". 

I have tried a CJ PV12 (preamp) with an older class D NAD amp, but eventually removed the CJ because it imparted too much hum. Now I use a Chord DAC to drive the amp directly and it sounds good, but not nearly as good as my all tube fully balanced Cary preamp and Atamasphere amps - and I'm driving a 4 ohm speaker with a 16 ohm amp with no problems because I’m also using ZEROboxes. Recently, I added an ISOCLEAN wall outlet and power cords and I’m in heaven! I hear so much more detail and the sound is even more natural. In fact, the signal is so clean I have no overly warm tube sound at all. Amps are plugged directly into the wall and other gear is running on a standard outlet with an ISOCLEAN power strip.