Tube Preamp for Solid State Monoblocks?

I have been hunting for a tubed pre to mate with my class D monos. In your price range I would try out the Rogue 66. You could also pick up an older Audio Research unit. If a remote is not a must have there are quite a few more options.

Tube pre-amps can be an excellent substitution for a ss one depending on what you expect or want to accomplish by adding one.

What about adding a tube pre-amp do you think would 'suit you well'. The reason I ask is because the answers you might receive will be influenced by your expectations as well as offers of other possibilities.

I was looking at the same monoblocks. Can somebody tell me if i can use the Copland CTA402 integrated as a preamp to match it up with the monoblocks?

Proac1 if the CTA402 has pre outs you can use external amps with it.

Can somebody tell me if i can use the Copland CTA402 integrated as a preamp to match it up with the monoblocks?

No, you can't.

First, it appears to not have preamp output jacks. It just has tape output (and input) jacks, which presumably are not controlled by the volume control.

Second, most or all tube integrateds (or more precisely, integrated amplifiers that have tube power stages and output transformers) should not be used as preamps, because operating the power amplifier section without a speaker load can cause damage.

Regards,
-- Al

A1, thank you very much. I have been waiting for a while to get an answer after posting the same question on other threads. This helps.

Iam also very interested in tube pre-amp. Unable to find a local dealer with a wide variety. Has any one tried Mac tube pre-amps with classe cam-400

No doubt, TAD-150 Signature!

A nice used Conrad Johnson PV-10, PV-11 or PV12 might do the trick for you. I had a PV-11 for several years with a SS power amp. Lovely combo, IMHO.

My only watchout would be impedance matching. Some of the Class D amps have a low input impedance (8-10K) and there are tube preamps with output impedances in the 1000s - those would not be good matches. Try to keep a minimum ratio of amp input impedance to preamp output impedance of 10X (that is a minimum!). Based on experience, I prefer a ratio of 40X or more.

I use a Modwright tubed pre-amp with my Bel Canto M300s and am very pleased. The tubed pre mates well with the Icepower amps. Synergy. I have no desire to change.