2 vs 8 tubes in preamp, sound difference?

Seems 2 tubes is very close to ss.  What is a hybrid preamp?

have heard a higher priced ss is just as good as tubes and handles higher and lower end freq better than tubes

Good pts, yet much confusion herein.

line stage preamps are needed and simple, so why are they soooo overpriced? $20k, 30k, etc. just crazy.

what makes very nice amps so damn expensive?

No havent heard a 20k pre. Disabled so cant leave home so i buyon faith. Need to upgrade my schiit freya which sounds good. Great functionality.

recommend a 20k tube pre?

So hoping to improve sonic bliss with a better pre vs schiit freya. 
if schiit is so good why are others sooooo expensive. 

So, tell me, how does one learn soo much about audiophiledom.  Seems its such a wide assortment of people so consumed with this hobby.  And so many r sooo challenged to understand it.  Some really mean spirited tirades and some very helping souls.

and then people move on. A cruel cruel world.