Tube Preamp/solid pwr amp or solid pre/ tube pwr

Well said and reasoned Raquel. I feel the proliferation of low impedance speakers(and lower efficiency) was a wrong move in high end audio. Done most likely due to the relatively cheaper cost of power with the advent of SS amplifiers.

Once again Al nailed it. Choose the amp that best works with your speakers, with B&W's it's usually ss.

Well I am in the camp of tubed pre-amp with ss power amp or go all tube. I have used a cj tubed pre along with cj ss amp to drive Thiel 3.6's and it was a great combination. The ss power amp can get a better grip on demanding speakers more than tubes can.

Chuck

My personal preference, after years of enjoying a large selection of tube and ss components, is a tube pre and a solid state amp. I tend to spend the most money on my preamp and have found that top end tube pre's have been extraordinarily quiet while yeilding all the sonic virtues that I love about tubes. With solid state amps, I get the wonderful grip on the bass that I like, and dollar for dollar, feel there is a better return when you need a high power amp.

Also, the replacement tube cost on a high power pair of tube mono's is significant, compared to retubing a pre.

Last comment.... having heard and owned many of the B&W's, I think solid state amps match very will with them (I particularly like Classe and Levinson).

chuck,
I think we all agree that ultimately speaker choice will detemine which amp is preferable. The answers above were hypothetical.