Ldworet - in reply to your follow up regarding amps:
Others may be better able to respond to this than I. I personally don't seek warmth in my amps. I am more prone to neutral to detailed than neutral to warm (so that should be considered along with my recommendations).
That being said, looking for a "warmer" SS amp with pretty higher power, I would consider investigating the following:
McIntosh large SS amps ($$$), these are a smoother amp than I like, but I think you really are seeking smooth and not just warmth (which may be confusing to some).
The BAT 250 and higher with BatPak could be another choice, they are supposed to sound warmer (or more tubelike) that say a Krell (as an example). You can get these used at pretty reasonable prices (from what I have seen).
Pass labs newest amps, like the 160 monos (but I think these are a lot of money at the moment). But these amps are designed to operate at higher power in Class A and Nelson Pass likes that smooth (almost tube-like sound as evidenced in his Aleph series, etc. . .).
Since I don't have much useful experience with your speakers, I would suggest what others are running with them. I think their assistance should be better than mine.
I think you are better off looking for a neutral or not "cold" power amp than one that is warm. Continue the approach of pursuing the tubed pre for the warmth you are seeking. I think going with a "warm" amp and a "warm" tubed preamp may be asking for or delivering too much warmth.
Personally, I would not suggest getting into a tubed amp if you don't already have some experience with tubes. I would suggest starting with the tubed preamp and SS amp as you suggest. If after taking this approach and falling in love with the tubed preamp, you want to move to a tubed amp (knowing a bit more about tubes), then that may be a reasonable approach.
FYI - if you decide to go with a tubed preamp, tubed amp and those speakers you should know that you will have a higher maintenance system if you plan to keep it long term. This is not bad, but you should be aware of it. In that situation, every major component you own will require maintenance, just like a car. I am talking about power amp tubes (most frequent), preamp tubes (at least every 2-3 years, and that's if you don't tube roll regularly) and even the speakers in about 10 years will need replacement parts (Mag owners should chime in here as my timeframe is just an estimate. I owned Logans and figured those panels needed to be replaced more frequently than every 10 years).
