tube pre amp or tube amp

Hi

I thihnk the person who said, glass pre plus SS power has a certain something is on to something there.

SS power does develop better bass than will tubes.

I've been in the process of discovering myself. for some eyars now, and when I get the notion I need to change something I really enjoy 'as is', somethings up besides sound quality. as said, change for the sake of change points elsewhere. not at the system.

the second astute point made was about the apparent sole source, the CDP.

I've been all about the source being the key to any outfit. the better or deeper into those waters one can get, the better.

transports just do not age well or last forever. along the way the resolution slowly declines and one gets used to that sound as it dies. replacing it holds a whole new bag of worms waiting for it to break in!! I went thru that with a Sony XA 777 SCDP.

given the orig Q, I would say....

If at all possible put some $$$ into a DAC which gives you options with more sources and formats, and an upgrade or update path from the maker. 

Or... 

don't trade or sell off something to buy another something given you enjoy what you have now. simply wait a tad longer and 'add' a new piece to the existing rig.

having on hand a second preamp, or amp of differgin topologies and or brands is always an outstanding option.

if a DAC is not the top choice, I'd go in for an SS amp. great bass does so much for the things residing above it, its nearly a 'must' have thing for me to dig a rig.

of course, there are other areas where one can pitch money and as such, improve or re-arrange one's SQ. Isolation. cabling. racks. Room acoustics.

all that said, I do dig where this is coming from completely.

I finally had put together the best sounding rig I'd ever owned and then sold it off just to try an all tube affair. that one turned out just as good but in a different sort of manner. 

for me to be able to have no further arguments on which this, or what that, I need two separate rigs. one all tube, and something else.

... but that's just me.

good luck

SS power does develop better bass than will tubes.

This is not universal!

That depends a lot on the relationship that the speaker has with the amplifier. If the speaker is easy for the amp to drive, a tube amp may well make better bass. An example is the Sound Lab ESL, which has a high impedance in the bass- and solid state amps have trouble making power into that high impedance, where tube amps don't.

I strongly agree with 4425 and Atmasphere.  I have found my audio Nirvana using mono bloc tube power amps but with a tube pre as well.  It's a very simple pre using only 2 X 6SN7s for amplification and SS rectification. I find I just don't get the 3d effect that tubes provide using SS amplification.

good call Ralph.

you are right it is NOT a universal axiom that sS will always yield better bottom end resolution. although it do seem to work more often than not in a number of varied applications.

countless threads here seem to be seeking the same additive aspect, better low end reproduction. and the common solution almost regardless the speaker type is to insert an SS amp as a replacement or as an addition to be dedicated to the bass drivers., for that express purpose.

it’s been talked about so much for so long, it just seems the ‘go to’ option/problem folks tend to look towards without as well replacing or exchanging speakers too..

there was no mention of the OP desiring new speakers so assumptions were made out of hand.

So I have appreciated hearing different points of view and feedback from everyone. I am inclined to keep or upgrade my ARC tube pre amp, which sounds great, and consider a solid state alternative to my VAC (maybe)
My cables are all Shunyata Research...which I believe convey the audio quite well. MY speakers are NOLA METRO GRAND Reference GOLD speakers and they really do sound spectacular -they are relatively efficient speakers, and while the woofers are only 6.5 inches!!, a 32 bit  recording Jazz percussion or whatever, will knock your socks off!!. So its tough to know if I have everything peaking or if solid state // Lamm hybrid could bring out something extra.