Tube or solid state

If you have the budget : go for a Technics R1000. Best amp on the market at any price

Sick of screwing with tubes.  I just want to push a button on a remote and hear music.

I still have tube guitar amps, and have for nearly 30 years, but that's it.  Down to a couple 5-watt babies from the 60s and 70s.  No more 100-watt heads and 4x12 cabinets...

Hunting vintage tubes, maintaining my own tube tester, maintaining a stock of tubes, it's not worth it to me any longer.

My tube gear was Cary and it sounded fine.  Bass is "better" with big SS power.

The answer is to use the best of either...a great preamp into any great amp will sound better than a mediocre anything. Tubes are different than SS, we all know that...but synergy is key. I use a tube preamp (Schiit Freya which is either passive SS or tube...always in tube mode unless I switch it to see if the tubes are OK) into either a single ended Dennis Had amp or a Pass XA-25 class A amp...mostly the Pass as I'm lazy, but I put the Had amp in there and enjoy it when I feel like it. Tube amps aren't always better as it depends on the quality of the amp.

Solid State much better than tube.

I have recently purchased a Cayin CS55a tube amp, whilst a very cheap amp ( and I paid 1/2 price) its performance I find astounding. I have tube rolled replacing the KT 88's with EL34's and this in may system improves markedly on my Naim Uniti and my Vincent pre / power amp hybrid. It is in my small music room but proves more than enough bass even with 20 watts in ultra linear mode. Speakers are Audio Physic Sitara 25's at 89dB and 4 ohms not exactly easy to drive. 

Well designed equipment doesn't have the characteristics of either tube or solid state.  Good equipment is neutral.  So it doesn't which type of component is in what position in the chain.  

I happen to have a hybrid phono stage, a tube preamp and solid state amps.  None of those components have any characteristic "sound."  

 

Tube/solid préamp. to Tube poweramp ( dac= tube)) Metronome Technologie - Daniël Hertz M6L - Mal Valve 2

How about the hybrid McIntosh MC451?  Can anyone speak to its performance?

Tube preamp for the sound and SS amp for the power and generally cooler running. (Class AB)

I agree with the majority of opinion expressed here: tube/tube if possible. Of the many combinations I’ve used, it’s amazing how vintage circa 1960 tube gear can compete and often best modern gear. Challenges so many notions in this hobby. Current favorite combo: McIntosh C20 > Marantz 8B > high efficiency horns. Fisher 800c excels as does Citation I & II. Tube just rises to the top in my experience. 

Okay, I am now using a tube preamp and a gan SS amp but it is because of the speakers being very inefficient. I do have a modified ST70 tube amp but the bass is not as defined when I use the Magnepan speakers system. I also have a tube dac but it is not very new and I find that the newer ( cheaper) dac seems to have more layers and wider soundstage. 

I read the question four times and I still don't understand it.

I’m done with tubes altogether. 

My PrimaLuna Dialogue HP Integrated with Genelec 12AU7’s and 8 KT150’s has become my holy grail amp. Having been through countless amps over the years, this setup is Nirvana.

My set up is solid state amp then tube pre amp. Also to note is my solid state amp is a quality class A amp. Not A/B or class D but true class A. For me the amp is the sound and the tube pre is the sound stage and dynamics.

@ dreas:   I ended up with McIntosh's MA352 to "solve" this dilemma. Never looked back.

+1 for the MacIntosh MA352

 

i agree, miss my Audible Illusions 3a

The best preamps I have heard have always been tubed (fifty years of experience in high end audio for me). I moved into a tubed preamp 25 years ago, then one by one tubed everything else. 
 

 

Yes.

I ended up with McIntosh's MA352 to "solve" this dilemma. Never looked back.

i think Tubes are better for Jazz and Classical music like Vaughn Williams string works where you can recreate that ethereal sound you get with a live symphony. for Rock its solid state all the way, so ideally 2 amps are needed.

FWIW I always prefer the smoothness available from a tube amp, not so much a solid state amp. But then I've not tried them all. Interestingly I've recently tried a SS preamp (in lieu of 30+ years with tubed pre-amp and haven't missed the tubed pre as much as I thought I would.  

In my opinion, the speaker and the room are what you hear and feel the most. With that stated, I have always preferred a high powered, class A amp(in my case a Coda Model 16) paid with a tube preamp/line stage(Aric Audio Motherlode) and tube phono(Manley Steelhead). The Class A and the tube combo give you all the lush dynamics and punch that you need and you are far less limited in your speaker choice in regards to efficiency. 

Either can be great. I really like good solid state gear, but I love tubes. So mostly I end up with tube phono, tube preamp, and tube power amp - sometimes with a JFET MC stage thrown in there. But I definitely still like good solid-state gear, or especially hybrid components - it's not like analog vs. digital, where I love analog and hate digital 😂 

tube preamp to tube amp

or 

tube preamp to class A SS

Both really good. Some days I like one, other days, the other.

Vinnie Rossi , with his Brama line choose :

Preamp. :  tubes  or SS ( you choose )

Amp.        :  SS

There may be a good reason for the amp. to be SS and not tubes.

My experience would suggest (along with most of the above) that if you are looking for  classic “tube” sound, the tube amp is more influential than a tube preamp. I believe you can get great sound going either way, and there is no single right answer. My experience would also suggest that auditioning gear in your room, with your system with your ears is much more important that reading reviews online. Early on I fell into the trap of buying gear based on reviews. EVERY time I was underwhelmed, because only I knew what I was really trying to achieve in my home. And there is such a thing as system synergy.

A more thorough answer

Tubes/SS: Only one tubes, Other SS: which one tubes = best choice?

My Answer: Tube Preamp into SS Amp.

Yap, Yap, Yap, but I have done each combo and you asked.

First, let’s add the consideration of the phono stage, in preamp or separate, tube or SS.

I’ve been happy with each combo, but thoroughly happy with tube/tube with tube preamp’s phono. (current setup, with very efficient vintage horn speakers).

Budget, Love of existing speakers, and WAF (or mate’s AF) are involved, but you could change the speakers to more efficient ones to go tube/tube now or someday. Efficent Speakers is always my advice for a new setup.

………………………………………….

I had three setups for a few years, all these efficient horn speakers.

1. tube amp mono blocks (Fisher 80AZ, 1958),

2. Tube Fisher Receiver (Fisher 500C, 1964)

3. SS preamp (McIntosh SS C28) into McIntosh SS Amp (MC2250).

Three sets of matching speaker wire, color tape, easy to reach colored bananas to switch.

CD/LP/R2R. Sgt. Pepper; Everyone chose LP over CD; everyone chose R2R over LP (even though R2R had the most S/N noise).

Next R2R thru SS or Tubes. Always R2R Tubes/Tubes over SS.

……………………………………

Currently Vintage Tube Preamp (McIntosh mx110z ) with it’s Phono, to modern Tube Amp (Cayin A-88T) to Vintage Horn Speakers.

………………………………………………………………..

I’ve been happy with each combo, but thoroughly/most happy with this vintage tube tuner/preamp tuner(McIntosh mx110z); into fairly modern tube amp (Cayin A-88T), into these vintage (1958 efficient horn speakers).

…………………………………….

 

If new, I always recommend efficient speakers so Tubes can be used/tried someday now or someday.

Resultant lower powered equipment offers not just lower price, but also smaller/lighter/more choices of location (especially if remote control is involved).

One thing to have in mind is that many tubed preamps have a high output resistance requiring careful matching with some ss power amps. Otherwise any combination can be successful, depending on speaker, but i have to agree that generally tube sound is more evident with tubed power amps. 

 

Count me in with those preferring tube-tube signal path. In context of the OP topic, I’d go transistor-tube rather than tube-transistor. In reality you can enjoy success with either option. However, I agree with larryi in that the tube amplifier provides more of the “ tube” effect/influence than a tube preamplifier.

My preference assumes compatible speakers with a good tube amplifier. Some speakers are designed with the intended partnering with transistor amplifiers. 

Charles

There has to be 100 threads on this already, search archives....

My best sound has been tube preamp to tube amp with very efficent horn speakers (current setup). So, if your speakers are inefficient, you might someday change your speakers!

However there is budget, and love of existing speakers, and WAF, so ...

I’ve done SS preamp into tube amps (mono blocks) and been happy, just more happy with tube/tube.

I’ve done tube preamp to SS amp (those less efficient speakers needed plenty of power) and been happy, just ....

One or the other, tube preamp to SS amp. My friends bring their equipment here from time to time, recently a friends new tube phono stage, and alternate tubes the seller included. We tube rolled, found the preferred tubes for his, surprisingly the rectifier tube change made a big difference. Then compared his to mine. We both preferred mine, so it can be prefer ’this particular’ unit, or the which tubes in that preamp.

I settled on a CD player, vintage Sony xa5400. I liked it thru a friends SS preamp, we both loved it thru my tube preamp. I might not have kept it if I heard it thru my old SS preamp.

The ’right’ tube selection can definitely make a difference in preamps, amps, phono stages ... it’s hard and can be pricey to find the preferred ones (not better, preferred).

All of the best systems I’ve heard featured full tube preamps into tube amplifiers, and that combo is my preference. If I could only pick one, I’d be inclined to go with an integrated tube amp.

I like, and own, tube gear.  The amp, more than anything, determines the sound.  I think one should find the right tube amp first, and then use whatever linestage you have.  My preference, again will be tubed, but, the choice isn’t quite as critical as the amp.

So much of the sound of the amp depends on compatibility with choice of speaker, type of amp (single-ended, pushpull, output transformerless), choice of output tube type, and quality of parts (particularly the output transformers). Make good choices here and spend most of the electronics budget here, and the sound would be good with any decent linestage.

 Because most tube amp designs don’t really need gain or drive from the linestage anyway, it makes sense to buy a good integrated amp which is often not much more than a tube amp with a volume control, source selector switch and extra input jacks added to a basic smp.