Your tube preamp and ss amp thread


Last night I was listening to my tube preamp and my tube mono blocks, noticed an imbalance in the sound, and as usual I traced it to a tube problem in the mono blocks. Luckily, I also own a ss stereo amp as a 'backup'. IME, ss amps tend to be a lot more reliable than tube amps. Nonetheless, I would be interested in how many other folk run a tube preamp and ss amp combo, and if so, what are your choices.
128x128daveyf
Running a Linear Tube Audio MZ3 and upgraded SMc Audio DNA-1. I recently added Iconoclast ICs and am replaying my favorites - very impressed and happy!
Audio Research LS 28 McIntosh 601’s ....... lovely !

The guitar amps comments are interesting. Largely music style 
dependent but tubes still rule that world.......solid state is closing the gap though. 
Vintage gear:  Audio Research LS2B MKII into a pair of Sumo Andromeda IIa MOSFET power amps into Acoustat electrostatic hybrids.  30 years of surviving shoot outs.  Maybe they go in the coffin with me..  
Over the past year, been using a Audible Illusions L3A with a combination of SS amps in this order. 
McIntosh MC152
Rowland Model 12
Pass XA 30.5
and now a Levinson 532H

All combinations sounded good to my ears. I’m interested in going for an even blacker background which I think there could be limits with a tube preamp. Kind of a trade off between detail with a SS preamp or a musical tube preamp presentation. I’ve read reviews that the AI L3B provides that blacker background but that’s going to cost me another $3k, so I might change out tubes on the L3A for now to hear what happens.