Toobs + SS = x

ux4, ewe say, regarding using toobs to warm tings up: "...look elsewhere & remove the problem..." well, i guess yure rite - we can ditch all our digital hardware & software! ;~) while toobs were always popular w/a small percentage of audiophiles prior to 1984, i believe the reason they are so popular today in the audiophile community, is due to the digital playback technology. it's yust plain cold, hard, flat, shall i say *distorted*? while i agree in principal that one shouldn't "add countervailing distortions", what's wrong w/using a toob preamp if it makes everyting sound better? my toobed pre's thd runs ~0.07%, btw... and, *all* the sources - tuna & fono, not yust cd - also sound better.

my prior preamp - a linn kairn - had great dynamics, frequency extension, accuracy, timbre, soundstage width & height. but, little soundstage depth - kinda flat. my present preamp gives up *nothing* to the linn's strengths - it's even more dynamic. but, now i have a depth to the soundstage that yust wasn't there before. countervailing distortion? dunno, but it's more like music...

ymmv, doug s.

I did not intend it that way, but I am currently using Symphonic Line P-20 (ss) pre with Aronov LS-9100 Monos(Tube). It`s the combination I would not imagine before I heard it. I am perfectly happy with the sound. SS pre with tube amp works. Just the pre has to be as musical as all Symphinoc Line products are.

I uhgree wit Dug : )

I attacked the "digital problem" by simply using tubes where it mattered most: at the front end in the DAC. Problem solved. Sean
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Ux4: I feel that your statement is too general to be at all factual. This entire hobby is based on system matching and there are endless combinations that do and don't work. The sound of most any component is dictated by how it synergizes with the other components (including cabling) in a system. A more progressive approach would be to attempt to discover these "magical" combinations within your own system and not to rule out an entire "class" of products, with which to experiment, in the process, as this will only limit and stifle you in the long run. I myself have discovered some great products (and matches) by trying to keep an open mind (not always an easy thing to do, I will admit).

ux4, sorry, i missed the fact that ewe were quoting redkiwi... oops. ;~) redkiwi, i guess yure rite - if yure using an unmusical/hard/cold/grainy (choose one or more) ss pre-amp, ewe can certainly warm it up by adding a mushy toob amp... :>)

please allow me to cut-n-paste from a toob/solidstate-amp/pre thread that generalizes my feelings towards this:

"i presently am happy w/a toobed pre & s/s amps. i can't afford a toobed amp that gives no quarter to solid-state amps where solid-state excels. much as i like the air that toobs impart into a soundstage, it takes big bucks to get a toob amp w/the frequency extension, accuracy & drive that s/s amps have, & that, i can't do w/o."

"likewise, i can't afford a solid-state preamp that gives no quarter to toob pre's, where *they* excel. plenty of toobed pre's that excel in areas where solid-state pre's excel - dynamics, frequency extension, accuracy - but few solid-state pre's that can give the air to a soundstage like a toobed pre, and it'll cost lotsa $$$... "

bottom line for me, is i'd have toob amps if i had an unlimited budget. i might or might not have a solid-state preamp, but only the megabucks s/s contenders would work for me... it's *easy* to find a good toobed preamp that is every bit as accurate, detailed & dynamic as their s/s brethren, w/o being mushy.

doug s.