Tube Preamps that work well with SS amps?

"I want to hear about those specific instances of tube preamp + SS amp = soggy sound"

Yes, of course. If you put the tube amp on the bottom, under the mayonnaise, the sound will be very soggy. If you put the SS amp on the bottom, it is hardly soggy at all. 😉

Hi Greg, I'm currently running a Backert Labs Rhumba Extreme preamp with Pass Labs XA 30.8 amp. These are pushing a pair of Audio Note AN-K's. I also have a Sonnet Morpheus DAC in the signal path when using my streamer and CD transport. I've had this set up together for about 3 months now and am very satisfied. 

It’s the other way around. You want a SS amp with higher input impedance to work with a tube-preamp. 100kohm is a good input impedance to look for but as low as 40-60 kohm may be fine. My combo is Audio Research sp16 pre to bel canto ref 1000m monoblocks. See system pics.

It has always been my opinion that mating a tube preamp with a solid state amp of the same company typically provides the best synergy.  I have experienced this with both Audio Research and McIntosh n the past.

mapman +1,

although was going to say Audio Research SP-3 through 16. I have had great results with all of them.  While I wish I still had the SP-3a, I still and use a SP-9 MKll.

All the best.

JD