Synergy is important, and Bryston makes a heck of a good preamp regardless of what kind of system is being installed. The Sonic Frontiers Line series are excellent in that they sound fine, or stay the hell out of the way of the music. They offer through-puts for outboard SS processors and have a pretty cool headphone jack for late night listening. Both tubes and solid state can sound great depending on the system so take your time and check things out thoroughly before you buy.
One thing to consider about tubes...........
If they "warm up" the sound like they're reputed to do, wouldn't that go a long way toward taming those harsh transients and excessive high frequencies that exist on sound tracks? I think Musical Fidelity was touting a product that was supposed to do that very thing. It even received a recommendation from Stereophile.
Good luck!
One thing to consider about tubes...........
If they "warm up" the sound like they're reputed to do, wouldn't that go a long way toward taming those harsh transients and excessive high frequencies that exist on sound tracks? I think Musical Fidelity was touting a product that was supposed to do that very thing. It even received a recommendation from Stereophile.
Good luck!