SS Pre-amp -Tubed Amp. Does it make sense?



I posted this question on the audioasylum regarding Sugden Masterclass pre-amp (solid state) i would like to mate with appropriate tubed amplifiers. No help there. However, i would like to hear opinions and actual owners of the system where solid state pre-amp is "driving" tubed amplifier and their experiances. Thanks!
ccarlos1ce6b
My setup is on the older side ,but works perfect for the last 12yrs.....using a Bryston .5b ss pre-amp with a Conrad Johnson MV45 tube amp which powers my mid/tweet towers.
Two (ss)Mono amps power the Bass towers...
Of course it can be done - I am running this type of set-up right now - what makes you question it's feasability? Although the reverse set-up seems to be more common, you're actually more likely to run into a less-than-optimal impedance match running a tube preamp (which will usually have a higher output impedance than a SS one) into a SS power amp (which tend to have lower input impedances than most tube amps). Some such combo's could lead to reduced bass response, but as a practical matter, you're usually not going to run into a problem either way. As for whether it makes sense, that depends what you're after, sonically; for me, the jury is still out on whether or not I'll be happy not having tubes in my preamp in the long run. It's been a trade-off with pluses and minuses.
It's even more make a sence than having otherwise. Low output impedance of SS preamp is more likely to match with high input impedance of the tube poweramps rather than matching high output impedance of the tube pre with low input impedance of the SS amp.
If you want to hear tubes than tube power amp is more likely to bring you that sound rather than otherwise.
If the preamp is 100% MOSFET that you get even more newtral sound than with tubes
You must also concider the change to the passive preamp since with gain you can't realy reach transparency or try to choose low-gain preamp.
I'm running a CJ PF-R SS pre with CJ MV-55 tube amp and the sound is just wonderful. You should try it.
I used a Classe Four Preamp with Quicksilver Mono's for several years with very satisfactory results. The strengths of one seemed to offset the weaknesses of the other nicely.