2. amps-preamps
  3. 1446582477

Solid state power + tube pre or visa versa?

Over the decades I've run solid state preamps with tube power amps and the other way around without being able to say which combination is necessarily always going to be better. I'm about to replace an entire system lost on a flood and find myself wondering at a recommendation that the combination of solid state preamp with tube power amp is ALWAYS better. Wanting to reduce my shortlist of potential amps I wonder if anyone has has a theory as to why these claims are made, a scientific one that is.
At the moment my short list is headed by the same Leban preamp I lost with a pair of bi-amped solid state power amps. Any thoughts?
Speakers are yet to be considered - I know - I should audition them first then choose amplification . All I know for sure is they WONT be horn loaded and highly efficient. Something like the top KEF's reference series maybe.
dismord
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Tube preamp ss amp is the only way to go.
lissnr
365 posts
 
I agree you have had plenty of good advice here and you're obviously an experienced and intelligent guy yourself. Lots of listening combined with patience and you will find a happy combination... Worse case you may miss the mark by a little, or not...and of course you will really refine it all with cables and room treatments.

I have become more impressed with the evolution of SS in general but once I "Discovered" quality tube sound it still brings me far closer to lifelike reproduction than anything else... FWIW my system runs through a tubed phono stage or a tubed Dac into a tubed preamp and matching tubed monoblocs.

Lots of great equipment out there of both genres sounding remarkable but my ears still tell me: "Tubes Rule"!

Good luck and enjoy the ride.
Happy Lissn'n!
jond's avatar
jond
5,847 posts
 
So quite obviously "the way to go" or "preferred combo" is whatever sounds best not someones oft repeated dogma. You're off to a great start just keeping an open mind, one thing I would suggest is just don't be afraid to get it wrong. It's the journey as much as the destination. Keep listening and it sounds at least like you know a preamp you like, Leben, so why not start there? And like someone else said don't be afraid to go tubes with tubes, many of us do here myself included with no ill effects to show for it. And quite often great sound. Happy listening!
unsound
7,329 posts
 
Dismond, if you're still there, listen to Almarg.
I will add to his points: though it can happen with the opposite technology in the opposite parts of the chain, it's more likely that the high input sensitivity of some ss amps might make the high output of some tube pres volume controls so sensitive and restrictive to become a hindrance.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,844 posts
 
it's more likely that the high input sensitivity of some ss amps might make the high output of some tube pres volume controls so sensitive and restrictive to become a hindrance.

This statement is false. What is true is you have to be aware of how much gain the amp and preamp have such that the combination works with the loudspeaker you have.

Some tubes amps have high gain others do not; some transistor amps have high gain others do not (for example the Pass amplifiers have the same gain as our amps do); some tube preamps have a lot of output while others do not and finally some transistor preamps have a lot of gain while others do not.

If you have a speaker of high efficiency its likely not to work so well if your amp has 50 db of gain and the preamp has 20 db. Conversely it won't work so well if the speaker is 85 db and the amp has 25 db of gain and the preamp has only 6 db or none in the case of a passive.
More to discover