Tube Preamp with Solid State Amp?

By the way...if anyone with really sensitive speakers are considering one of the new McIntosh integrated amps (252.352), you may want to consider the high gain. Mac wrote me back and said their tube integrated amps have a total gain of 44db. The rep stated that tube hiss would be quite loud on my ZU Omen 101 db speakers. 

When I tried my former high gain amp with Solid State Pre.....noise was not an issue. 

at the end of the day it’s all about the sound that pleases the listener regardless of how you get there. i just think that up front the system should be neutral with great clarity. this puts most good speakers in play allowing one to then find the speakers that have the characteristics he/she values for their music. the flavor you might say. 
ymmv

Big John,

My second system consists of Parasound P3 and A23 with Forte II.
I have tried my Primaluna Dialogue Premium preamp from my system #1 and I will tell you it adds a nice holographic sound stage and that tube sweetness while maintaining all the detail. I think you are on the right track.
Good luck
John S

I received a huge upgrade in sound from
NAD C375BEE integrated amp into tube preamp and solid state amp. 
The pieces are McIntosh - preamp included a DAC and phono stage versus an phono only in the integrated. The amp increase output from 150 to 300 yet my speakers found new life. The sound is more dynamic and detailed at all listening levels. 

Had to for the last 45 years or so...built a Hafler 500 from a kit in 1974 or so and have been using CL-32 Luxman preamps on it since then.  Both CL-32's finally gave up...evidently no matter how much I paid, and I paid a lot, they don't seem to be fixable by so-called "experts."  Whatever.  Hard to believe people charge you to fail, but that is today's world, I guess.  In my shop, if I could not fix it, it was free no matter how much time I spent on it.  Failure is failure--not these days based on current events, obviously.

Got a used SP-6 two months ago, and BOY, what an immediate improvement in every phase of the listening experience (I kind of knew it would be...).

Now, looking for a used ARC power amp (tube, not hybrid) and an EC-21 crossover (kind of hard to find) so I can bi-amp with the Hafler on the bottom and the ARC on top for my T-1-C speakers.

Not a bad idea, and worked OK for me for a long time.

Cheers!