tube pre amp plus solid state power amps?

Yes I know the feeling in regards to tube amp maintenance and the desire to try a ss amp. There is nothing wrong with experimentation, only you can come to a conclusion what sounds good with your speakers, in your room. Whoever said that the preamp plays an insignificant role in the audio chain is completely wrong, the choice here can make or break a system. Actually everything in your system is important right down to the interconnects and power cords. Granted, some components are less impacted than others with a quality aftermarket power cord and trying different interconnects are system dependent (hit & miss) but experimentation here is necessary to reach a sound that is desirable to you.

With my speakers and a VTL tube preamp, an upgraded PS Audio HCA-2 (digital switching amp) has done the trick, the sound is warm, detailed, full bodied yet very musical & engaging. Excellent midbass and texturing provides a luxurious sound quality only to be challenged by the best of some all-tube systems in my opinion.

A friend of mine has the new J2 amp which he uses on a very high efficiency horn based system (105 db/w) and on some fairly low efficiency mini monitors. I believe he was using the Levinson No. 32 preamp in order to go fully balanced all the way from his SACD source to the amp. I thought the sound was quite good -- grain free, clear, and reasonably free of the artificial edge to the attack of the note and unnatural decay of notes that often characterizes solid state sound.

However, it would not be an alternative to most solid state amps because it is quite low in output (something like 20 watts, if I recall correctly).

25 watts. Should be could for most applications with 91-92db speakers with smooth, and highish impedance (good for OTLs, good for the J2)

I made a recent switch from Lamm M1.1 hybrid (100wpc pure Class A into 8 or 4 ohms - unlike M2.1 or 2.2 which switch to AB at certain power levels) amps to Clayton M200 SS amps. I am quite happy with this lateral move. Both are Class A so the heat issue is a wash, and both accomodate tube preamps with relatively high input impedances of 47K for the Lamm and 100K for the Clayton's. The M1.1's sound great but are an older design, a bit dark in tonality and somewhat rolled off in the HF. The Clayton's do not suffer the darkness or HF roll-off shortcomings, provide more power (200wpc into 8 ohms and 400wpc into 4 ohms), are a newer design with newer output devices, and came with a warranty. There are some things the Lamm's did a bit better - if you like a darker, richer-sounding presentation, and they were maybe just a touch more dimensional (due to the tube in the input stage?), but both kick strong in the bass and I don't have to consider changing tubes with the Clayton's. The M200's double into 4 ohms and drive my 90dB speakers to very satisfying levels, where the Lamm's did get a bit "hard" sounding when pushed to levels I would not normally listen at. For true Class A solid state, you would be hard pressed to do better at similar power levels than the Clayton's. They also offer an M300 mono pair with a low bias switch so they can be left on all the time. All that said, the newer Lamm M1.2's would be very high on my list to audition, if I had the cash.

I've had no problem obtaining a rich, tube-like sound by using a Conrad Johnson PV-5 (heavily modified)tube preamp with a Belles 350A solid-state amp (not Reference). Mitch2 and others are right to bring the impedance matching info to your attention, heed them. I feel ( and its only my opinion) that the Belles amp has tube-like qualities, it's not analytical or edgy-sounding, and brings very good bass oomph to the otherwise rolled off bass qualities of the CJ preamp. The reason for the good bass is most likely the high damping factor of the Belles amp,but I'm sure there are other factors at play here, such as choice of cables and source components. The tube preamp with solid state amp combo may not give you 100% of the tube sound youre used to, but with prudent system matching, it can get very close......good luck in your search!--Mrmitch