Tube Amp or Tube Pre Amp

Almost 40 years ago (is it that long?), I switched to all tubes. But along the way, I took the tube preamp with solid state power amp route. This is what I’d recommend initially. 

With my Cornwall 4's the current setup is a Primaluna EVO 400 pre between a Holo May KTE DAC and Audion Mk3 GanFet monobloc power amps.. This is a very congenial grouping for me.

As noted, tube amps are considerably more expensive to keep up (and in power consumption) than tube preamps. Another factor is that tube amps usually to have higher output impedance (lower damping factor), which means that system matching is more important, because the actual frequency response you hear will be more influenced by the impedance curve of your speakers.

As an alternative to a tube amp, you might consider trying a modern SS amp made by a tube manufacturer. I'm thinking in particular of the Class D amps made by Atma-Sphere.

I recently added an Octave Jubilee preamp to my system and its the best preamp I've ever heard, a superb product in my opinion. Adding a tube amp would be too much for me-the tube amps I've heard-a few- are fine well built components, but don't really do it for me. The additional cost of operation and bother wouldn't be worth it for me, and my next move will be to upgrade my amp with SS. For me, a tube or hybrid preamp and SS amp strikes the right balance. Not a bad plan to start with a tube or hybrid pre and if you find yourself wanting more "tubey", go from there. Your ears may be different-its easy to recommend what we have-self affirmation-but your experience may be far different from mine and I don't think there are any absolutes other than what sounds good to your ears in your room.

Good luck!