2. amps-preamps
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Tube pre- or amp: does it matter?

Hi,

I'm considering introducing a tube component into my system (Cary 306/200, Placette pre, Macintosh 300, Gallo 3.1) to bring out a little more depth, staging and musicality. I'm willing to start from scratch with both the pre and amp. If I were to balance tube and ss, is there a rule of thumb about whether it's better to have a tube for pre or a tube for amp? All things being equal (which they seldom are) would one make a bigger difference in sound than the other? In my electronic ignorance, I'm wondering if there might be something about whether the tube is closer to your source or closer to your speakers. (Of course, I may end up with tube for both.)

Thanks for any help,
Bob
holderlin
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
About five years ago I started just the way Dave did, with a tube preamp first. Since then, I feel it's had a greatly positive affect on any solid state amp I used with it. I recently added a tube amp and am enjoying that difference as well. As Elevick suggests, tube rolling a preamp is much cheaper. Also consider that many tube amps get extremely hot!
flg2001's avatar
flg2001
543 posts
 
I second the suggestion to start with a tubed preamp, many options out there from First Sound, CAT, Cary and of course Conrad Johnson.

Fernando
john_fink
140 posts
 
I just recently added a Audio Research SP16 to go with my Audio Research 150.2 amp and really like the results.
clio09
3,353 posts
 
I started with a tube preamp as well. I then moved to a tube amp, but eventually went back to a solid state amp as a result of speaker efficiency.

Done right a solid state amp and tube preamp can sound very nice together. In addition to proper impedance matching, depending on the type of sound you desire, you'll need to find a tube preamp with the right sonic signature to match your amp. Some tube preamps are very musical (my Joule Electra for example) while some are much more transparent (the new Modwright comes to mind). There a lots of good choices out there so try to listen to a few in your system to get a good idea what matches up best with your amp.
jond's avatar
jond
5,744 posts
 
I also suggest starting with a tubed preamp. I think that the preamp exerts the greatest influence on sound quality. Also they're cheap and fun to tube roll. Enjoy checking out different preamps, I own and love my Herron and also recommend Joule Electra, Supratek, Air Tight, First Sound and many others. Have fun and happy listening!
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