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What is Better? SS Amp+Tube CD OR Tube Amp+SS CD

Can someone tell me which setup is better sounding combo?
1. good quality SS amp matched with Tube CD player
OR
2. quality Tube amp with quality SS CD player
My critieria is warm, sweet, smooth, real sounding music of tubes wtih reasonable accuracy & bass that SS provides.
Most of all, which combo is better bang for our buck
bonger
bonger OP
47 posts
 
Thanks for opinions guys.

My friend actually has opposite opinion regarding digital vs. amp. His view is to have neutral/clean amplification as much as possible with quality SS amp and let the "front end" color the sound. This way, he says, if you wanna change the "sound", just change the "front end" by changing tubes in CDP or to another CDP. So his setup is a Bryston amp with tube CDP.

You guys both make good points, I've got power hungry Totems so I'm probably leaning towards tube hybrid amp & tube CDP...cause I really miss the EL34's midrange my Jolida had.

Having said that, is there such thing as tube hybrid EL34 based amps?...or something equivalent?
larryi
4,188 posts
 
Bonger,

Your friend assumes that solid state gear is "neutral" and "clean" while tube gear is somehow less pure. I think a lot of us would disagree. All gear has its characteristic sound, and it is hard to generalize about which is more neutral. That which offends one the least, would be judged neutral or clean. For me, that would be SOME tube gear.

I have not had vast experience with CDP/DACs that hang a tube cathode follower after a conventional solid state output from the DAC to give the player a "tube sound." The ones from Cary that I heard sound much better to me from the solid state output.

I have heard DACs with tube outputs that were much more thoroughly engineered as a tube unit, and do not employ tubes as a marketing ploy. Some, like the Audionote DACs sound very good. But, I've heard a number of very good, albeit quite different sounding, pure solid state machines. My own player, a Naim CDS-3, is in a mostly tube-based system.

In short, one cannot generalize about these things. My guess would be that you would be better off getting tube amplification and a CDP with a solid state output instead of one that tacks a tube stage on as a gimmick.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
if you stick to current production equipment and consider tube amps, other than triode amps, it probably makes little difference whether you use tubes or solid state. well deisgned tube and solid state amps, tend to sound alike these days.

regarding cd players, again with reference to current production cd players, i have found that most are not particularly tube sensitive and that there may not be much of an advantage having a tube analog stage, when you have 24/192 chips and up sampling.

the exception to the above applies to older gear, say 80's and early 90's cd players, and tube amps from the same period. the difference between tube and ss gear was more apparent at that time.
fplanner2000
616 posts
 
My vote is a good SS amp and tube CD player, which is what I currently have and enjoy immensely. All the solid state amplification benefits, with the warmth and presence of tubes - it doesn't get much better and is not as speaker dependent as the opposite choice might be. To me - most flexibility and best sound is the above.
finsup
289 posts
 
Chazzbo,

Would you mind diagramming your opinion, please? I got lost somewhere in there and can't find my way out. : )
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