Tubes are inherently great sounding devices when implemented properly in a circuit design. Tubes always make the best rectifiers in a circuit. If I didn't love the sweet sound of my SS amp I really would consider a tube amp especially as it doesn't have to power the deep bass which is handled by two powered subwoofers.
One note of caution...Some tube types are becoming a bit harder to find. ex. 5687. I would love for Gold Lion to start producing these. There are still some NOS available but demand is high. |
Inna,
Both Al and Wolf use SS preamps with tube power amplifiers and I have no question that their sound quality is stellar.
Here’s an example Robert Koda preamp(SS) with Wavac amplifier (tube). Bet that this would sound superb.
Charles |
I recently bought my first tube preamp. I am in sonic heaven ever since. I was very skeptical about owning a tube preamp, the cost of tubes, their sudden failure, etc. kept me away from tube amps all this time..
I recently purchased an Aesthetix Calypso, and I could not believe the kind of music it makes.
It is like "watching" a concert, live, you are there, with all the musicians and backing vocalist, and there is zero element of fatigue factor, with both, LPs and CDs.
The four tubes based Aesthetix preamp with Levinson 431 and PMC twenty one speakers, takes the musical experience to a level I never thought existed.
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Inna said that best approach was either all tube or all transistor, speaking high level gear. Wolf, get your "unbalanced" balanced then talk. |
Tube amp since that's where your speaker is directly connected to.
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Over the years I've had many tube pre's mated with tube and ss amps.I agree with those who have opined that the tube amp has more influence than a tube pre amp.That said,I'm now using a highly rated passive pre with a tube amp and together they yield a distortion floor lower than any combination I've used.It's all good.
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My experience is with both home audio and guitar amps over about 106 years (musician years are different due to the effects of smokey bars and frequent string changing). I currently am using a very clean and detailed balanced SS preamp paired with an amazing SEP "Fire Bottle" tube amp (unbalanced, like me) from Dennis Had and it's the best sound I've found with this particular gear pile, so there's a vote for that approach. Sorry Inna, you be wrong. I agree with both Almarg and the "handsome and talented Charles1dad" that impedance matching or ultimate grunt are points worth considering as my SEP amp would clearly wilt with anything other than efficient speakers, which means I'm in an "efficient speaker trap" with no way out, although "I like it, it's good" (Robbie Robertson line). I am going to try a Schiit Freya preamp (back ordered) soon though, and that's an output hat trick design that can be used with its tubes, passive, or FET circuits allowing instant response to this thread. I hope the Freya works…I worry...I've used about 372 guitar amps over the years including a tube pre/SS power amp (Legend A60) which sounded really good, a Music Man SS pre/tube output (OK but made my hot rodded P90s in a Les Paul Special squeak like mofos), and an all SS Fender "London Reverb" that me and a few of my compatriots jumped on initially and soon bagged. Along with these anomalies it's been all tube otherwise, both vintage and modern…now primarily using a 15 watt 6V6 based all tube push pull combo (Reverend Goblin…pretty rare but highly recommended), and an EL84 tube rectified 18 watt class A single ended Burris Royal Bluesman head. Tubular. |
Power amplifier, no doubt
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I've had so many amp/preamp combinations through the years. Both solid state and both tubes and any combo within.
Because of the speakers I use, (Electrostatics, Planar Magnetic, Ribbons), the use of a tube amp that will drive these has pretty much been out of my financial reach, (I have owned some really nice tube amps, however).
My favorite combo is a tube preamp and a solid state (Class A) amp. For me, this has produced the best sound for what I use and what I listen to. |
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Preamps have to drive the amplifier so consideration to proper impedance matching is needed. Once addressed a high quality tube or SS preamp should both perform well in the sense of "driving" the amplifier. listeners will then decide which sonic presentation they prefer. Power amps must contend with driving a speaker’s load which is the more daunting task in most cases. the differences between tube versus SS output devices are more prominent and stark. This is largely responsible for why I believe the power amp is the more crucial variable given its interaction with the speaker load. Preamp driving power amp is less demanding. As Al mentioned benign speaker loads, this compared to a difficult speaker load has definite implications regarding the chosen amplifier .My point is you’ll hear the tube/SS differences with the power amp and due to their innate sonic distinctions.
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Analogluvr 11-12-2017
Good tube sound is not lush and warm. In my experience good tube sound just tends to have slightly more realism, palpability, and is better at Soundstaging. +1. Excellent comment, IMO. My experience, though, has been consistent with the comments by Keith, Charles, and Hk_fan, with tube power amps having tended to contribute more to those three qualities than tube preamps. I should add, though, that my experience with tube preamps has not been particularly extensive, and for the most part has involved well regarded vintage units (e.g., Marantz 7, Marantz 1’s). Also, to provide context, most of the speakers I have owned over the years have had benign impedance characteristics, and medium to high sensitivities. Regarding your ground rule of... ... equality of price/quality. i.e. not comparing a $10k power amps contribution to a system to that of a $1k preamp. ... and your statement that... I have the perception that preamps give you more bang for the buck - meaning that it takes less money to get a great tube preamp compared to a great tube amp. Agree/disagree? ...I agree, at least in the case of medium to high powered tube amps. Tube watts tend to be expensive, for a given level of quality. So if highish power capability is needed in a given application, comparable quality between a tube power amp and a tube preamp might be hard to find at comparable prices. Which may tip the balance in favor of a tube preamp/solid state amp combination. Regards, -- Al |
I generally agree that as you approach very high levels of design and implementation the distinction between tube and SS is diminished (but does not disappear). I find this narrowing more so for preamps rather than power amplifiers (the gulf is larger). This is why I have found tube amps more of a difference factor than tube preamps which can sound more like their SS counterparts. The tube amps seem to impart more of the flesh on the bone or 3 D palpability aspect.
Charles |
In my experience the pre-amp is much more important. Infind as you deal with smaller and smaller signal levels the component can impart a greater imprint on the sound. However I would only use a solid-state amp for bass duty or if I had a speaker that was tough to drive.
I really feel that using terms such as "tube sound" are very misleading however. I find as you approach state of the art both topologies tend to sound more and more similar. Good tube sound is not lush and warm. In my experience good tube sound just tends to have slightly more realism, palpability, and is better at Soundstaging.
An additional benefit is that good tube gear seems to hold it's value better than solid-state. It makes me chuckle how there are these very expensive state of the art solid-state amps and 10 years down the road they're worth 1/20th of what they were initially. |
+2 Keith. I have beard virtually every type of combination of tube and transistor components over the years. IMO tubes impart more overall sonic influence via power amplifiers than as preamplifiers. I suspect I'm in the minority and most responses will favor the preamp 😊. Both obviously matter but I find that the amplifier is dominant. I am using tube pre and power amplifier.
Charles |
The tube power amp provides more of the "magic" Agree with Keith |
The tube power amp provides more of the "magic" |
I should add that in my experience the preamp is the most important of the two |
Ive had every combination and keep coming back to tube pre and amp...... |
Purist approach is either both tube or transistor. I would make an exception for hybrid Ypsilon and Lamm power amps. I would never do solid state preamp and tube amp, the other way around may be okay. |
VERY rough take:
Preamp in sweetness, sense of space and imaging. Amp for dynamics.
Amps are most speaker fussy however.
If you have hard to drive speakers, the usual recipe is a tube pre with beefy SS amp. YMMV, and not all tube amps, but this is _generally_ the understood solution to wanting to have an ESL speaker with tubey goodness.
Best,
E
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I have both a tubed amp and preamp and have had several of both over the years and to me the preamp has made the biggest difference always.
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I'm happy with my tube pre-amp (ARC LS-27 Mk II) and a quality SS amp (Sunfire), but may get a newer amp. Benchmark or Schiit Vidars or ... |
