Tube Pre/ Class D Amp - Who has done it?


Open forum for those who have actually tried this.  Really curious to know who has been happy, or maybe unhappy, with a tube preamp driving a Class D amplifier?

Of course, tube pre with a solid state amp is a classic pairing for hard to drive speakers, especially ESL's.   This is a little different.   I'm really curious to know what pres and Class D amps have had great synergy.

erik_squires

I've done it with a Voyager GAN 300 wpc class D amp with an Aric Audio Motherlode II tube preamp.  Now am running the combo of a PSAudio M1200 class D hybrid monoblocks driven by the Aric Audio Motherlode XL tube preamp.  The latter combination is the heart of my reference system and, for the record, it sounds heavenly.  I have had awesome solid state amps - the JC1 Prarsound monoblock amps for example - but I don't miss the sonics of those backbreaking boat anchors because of the outstanding Audio reproduction of my reference systems.

I’m have a Raven tube preamp from Spatial Audio with a D-Sonic m3a-1200-s amp driving Gunned MMGs.

I use a Italian Lector ZOE preamp, with a CI audio class D amp with excellent results. The ZOE got a major major upgrade when I installed NOS brimar tubes, totally transformed it, the ciaudio is stock except for a excellent Synergistic Research fuse...

Really love having a small light amp that doesn't run hot, and sounds as good or better than my old Sonic Frontiers tube amp that had eight KT 88s, weighed 160lbs, and could heat your house.

Had a PS Audio BHK preamp and M700’s for a couple of years. They worked well together, but I still thought the same system sounded better when I replaced the M700’s with a CODA continuum 8 class A/B.  But really, I don’t think you can generalize about whole classes of amps. Maybe the Atmasphere class D amps would have been as good or better than the CODA.

I normally bi amp with a VTL ST 150 and a Nord Audio Purifi Class D driven by a VTL 5.5 pre but the VTL pre is currently in for repair. So I am now using the Class D full range and the SQ is very good, maybe not as 3 dimensional as when bi amping with the VTL ST 150 on the mids/highs but very good anyway.