Funny. I recently switched from my Conrad Johnson pv-11 to my krell Pam 5 and the krell has way more detail. I even had nos telefunken 12au7’s in the cj. I think I’ll be staying with the krell for a while. Maybe look into buying a nice Ayre pre. I believe I’m hearing a lack of distortion. The krell also has a separate power supply and is a very quiet pre.
Solid states more accurate than tubes?
Ever since I changed speakers from a pair of Maggie's to Proac's, I find the tonal balance more accurate with a ss, especially acoustic wood instruments. Tubes seem to lack that tonal accuracy. I believe it's a more realistic and accurate rendering. Is that a fair assessment? I'm not arguing tubes don't sound good with it's rich, warm sound but just not as accurate.