tube amp / ss preamp configuration?

I think guys just get into SS for the power and then wish they had a bigger sound stage and more life like presentation. That is when they start looking for a tube preamp to give some of that "tube magic."

On the other side if you have a tube amp and come to enjoy it then it would be a little crazy to go with a SS amp and run the nice clean music through all those pre printed circuit boards.

The traditional tube preamp/ss power amp set-up allows you to have more driving power for your speakers, as well as adding tube warmth to the overall sound. But, there is no reason why you can not do it the other way around. That is the set-up that I have with a ss Musical Fidelity CD PRE 24 preamp/cd player and a tube Prima Luna Prologue 5 power amp. I prefer the control that I get from a solid state preamp. My speakers are easy enough to drive and I don't need tons of power, as I prefer the way that tubes sound.

regards,

Rich

Nothing wrong either way if you like the results.

Former Conrad Johnson engineer Bill Thalmann has used a CJ/Motif solid state preamp and a CJ tube amp for years with very happy results.

You may wish to ask him yourself the where what and why.
His email is: bill@musictechnology.com

There are a couple threads already on this topic, which provide a little more information.

There's nothing wrong with a SS pre and tube amp. I've had all 4 combinations, and truthfully the SS pre / tube amp combo is probably my overall favorite.

Michael

I like the ss pre and actually roll tube amps. It allows for more consistency with less variables. Tube pre amps tend to pick up too many problems with the tube amps.