Need Preamp Recommendation

Up to, say $2K, are there significant sonic differences between tube and SS preamps and what is your preference sonically to mate with (class A) SS?

1. yes
2. there are many good ones - i am sure you will soon get the laundry list of contenders

Well, I use a Aric Audio tube preamp with a Pass XA25 with great results. He makes one that retails at your price point. 

As with the Quicksilver mentioned by yogi, his preamps have low output impedance for a tube pre. 

Quicksilver is a huge bang for the buck.  I don’t own a QS preamp but I do have a pair of Mid Mono amps that are awesome for the money, as is the QS headphone amp.  Built like tanks.   Point to point wiring , super reliable 

Preamp is also point to point , rarely seen at this price...  it is labor intensive so most companies just use a printed circuit board.   
All my tube gear moving forward will be point to point.   Much more reliable and easier to fix in most cases.   I bet John at Audio Connection will tell you the same thing he told me when I bought headphone amp...  if you don’t love it I’ll take it back.  That type of confidence means he rarely sees a QS piece come back.  It’s good stuff

I'll just echo what @avanti1960 said. Oh how I am drawn to tube rectification in my headphone amps, pre amps, phono stages.........