Whoa, chas, what scintillating wit and repartee!
Sure put that pesky, agressive question asker in his place dincha?
Very impressive indeed. Nothing like the internet to take out your misplaced angst and venom risk free. The net is a virtual playground for insecure jerks
Problem is, with posts like that, you come off sounding like a moron with a chip on his shoulder. Chill, or go take some prozac. See a thread or post you don't like? Ignore it, or is that too difficult for a feller like you?
As for the question asked... The 39 run direct will afford greater resoltion across the frequency band, more dimensional imaging and a blacker background than the combination you mention, IMO.
I was using the 39 and the $7k Thor TA-1000 together. One day I became curious what direct would sound like and the next day the TA-1000 went up for sale. I lost a little tube bloom and air, but the heightened rez, slam and spatial characteristics were worth the trade off. If I were to make a suggestion, I would recommend you experiment with some tubed amplification downstream from that combo. Could be the best of both worlds. Good luck with your purchase.