Greginnh,
Given the context of your inquiry I’ll state my perspective. In terms of obtaining or retaining "tube character" I believe the power amplifier has more influence in that regard than the preamplifier. I believe that SS pre/tube amp or tube pre/SS amp (the far more common approach) can both be successfully implemented. The "quality" of your preamp is the critical variable. If your objective is to have the intrinsic character of tubes present in your system then the tube power amp will have the more dominant impact as it’s directly driving the speaker. Obviously this assumes you’re using appropriate speakers with the tube amplifier. I’m not suggesting the tube preamp has no contribution but that it’s less than the amplifier. Let us know what you hear with your SS Esoteric and tube amp.I use a tube pre and power amp. Hypothetically If "forced" to give up one, I’d keep the tube amplifier and obtain the best SS preamp I could afford.
Charles