I'm having very good results using a Placette Active Linestage with a pair of hot-rodded Atma-Sphere MA-1 Mk II.2's. As advertised, the Placette is extremely transparent, allowing the wonder of the Atma's to be fully appreciated. I truly believe that if you're going to mix SS with tubes, the preamp should be the SS partner. Tube amps (particularly OTL's) are just very difficult to beat--in fact I'm not sure they can be. As always, however, your final results will be SYSTEM dependent.
Let's forget about being politically correct
I thought this would catch the attention of some of you. I have for the past 10 years used a SS amp and tube preamp. This was the prevailing wisdom with alot of audiophiles in the 90's and even today. I am look for a change in my amp/preamp, who out there is using a tube amp with a ss pre? How does it sound? What combinations have you tried?