Tube Amp or Tube Pre Amp

My experience moved me from all tubes to a tube pre and ss amp for a few reasons.  Cost of power tubes, heat, better bottom end control at the cost (maybe) of a very little loss in sound stage.  I would start with a good tube pre.  I've found that many newer pre's sound is moving toward a more SS sound.  Do your research.  I landed on a Cary SLP 05 but there are many great options.

Might as well try both.

I ended up with a total tube system and a tube preamp feeding my Lixman M10X.

My last choice would be SS for preamp feeding a tube amp.

https://aricaudio.com/tube-gear/

Tube Pre, your Cornwalls will love it.

You should be able to find something here https://www.stereophile.com/category/tube-preamp-reviews

I have all tube at this point so am openly biased.  The right *quality* of all tube amp system will take you to a sweet place.  But if I was to pick a tube pre to combine with a SS, I would still go with what I currently have:  New Audio Frontiers Stradivari.  With well-chosen NOS tubes, this preamp can combine with many amps, SS or tube, and add a sweetness, tone, and clarity--a balance that will add value to your setup.  It's not low-budget, but much lower than new VAC's, BAT's, or Audio Research's higher-end tube preamps.  To buy or inquire:  Colin at Gestalt Audio.

Definitely a tube preamp, with either solid state or tube amp. I have an Aric Audio Motherlode XL preamp driving: CODA S5.5 SS amp, Tubes4HiFI KT-120 tube amp, and an Aric Audio Transcend "Push Pull" EL 34 amp. The Motherlode excels driving all 3 amps, and a serious upgrade over my last solid state preamp.

Great preamps can be had from: Aric Audio, Spatial Raven preamp, Supratek, LTA, BAT, Backert Labs, Atma-Sphere....my favorites being the Aric Audio and Raven (which was designed by Don Sachs and Lynn Olson). Great luck on your search