Tube preamp vs Tube cd player

Zd542,
You made some very good points.
I most often prefer tube over transistor alternatives in general but it all depends. Just adding tubes into the mix doesn't make everything better and solve all problems. Some SS components have better midrange sound than some tubes. Some tube components will provide better bass and resolution than some SS components. Design, part quality and high level implementation are what determine ultimate success. I use a SS DAC with tube preamplifier and power amplifier and this is a splendid solution me. There are numerous paths to good sound quality. Quality execution of the individual component is the key.
Charles,

I agree with zd's points as well. Design and implementation is the most important criteria not tubes vs ss. Poor design is poor design period. FYI, my personal choice is tube CD, tube pre-amp and tube amplifier, choice 3 like John. Not all tube amps eat output tubes but many do and of course they do deteriorate over time so they need to be periodically tested. This goes for ALL tubes used in any circuit.

So in an ideal set-up, on the surface at least, I would choose 1 over 2 providing the pre-amp is well designed, it's a better bet.

It's my own experience/observation (of course) but tube/SS differences seem less pronounced with digital front ends ( there's more sonic overlap between them). Power amplifiers present the larger gap based on my listening. If you really like what a good tube amp can do, SS amplifiers will simply sound different(better or worse in an individual opinion). My 2 cents worth.
Charles,

Lots of excellent responses have been provided above, and in particular I'll third ZD's well stated points.

Also, regarding this statement in the OP...

for power amp, most people prefer solid state...

... a major reason for that is simply the fact that more often than not speakers are designed with the expectation that they will be used with solid state amplifiers. In many of those cases using a tube amplifier would result in some combination of tonal imbalances due to non-optimal impedance matching, inadequate bass damping, or inadequate drive capability. Also, a given number of tube watts generally tends to cost more than the same number of solid state watts, for a given level of quality.

But there are nevertheless many speakers that are best used with tube amps. And there are also many that are well suited for use with either kind of amp, with the resulting sonics depending on the intrinsic sonic character of the amp and the speakers, but not on factors involving interactions between them.

If a speaker has above average efficiency and sensitivity, and an impedance curve that does not dip down to low values (e.g. less than say 5 ohms or so) at any frequency, and an impedance curve that does not vary a great deal as a function of frequency, the likelihood that it will be a good match for a tube amp is increased.

Also, regarding matching a tube preamp with a solid state power amp, or a tube CD player with a solid state preamp, you want to be particularly careful to check that impedances are compatible. See my post in this thread for further explanation.

Regards,
-- Al

All tubes. Amp (makes the biggest difference) pre, tuner, and cd player should all have tubes, or why bother? Just go ss. You just have to make sure everything matches up well, and that you have the right speakers.