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Tube Preamp with Solid State Amp?

Greetings!

I’ve seen some folks using Tube Preamps with Solid State Am ps. I’m thinking of doing that with my system as part of an incremental change. I currently have a Parasound P5 preamp with a Parasound A21 driving Klipsch Cornwall 4’s. Will a decent / good Tube Preamp really make a difference in my sound? I enjoy what I have now but really want to experience Tubes in my system. Thanks!
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Showing 2 responses by zyphryx

zyphryx's avatar
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zyphryx
128 posts
 
I have a PrimaLuna Dialogue for the pre that runs into a pair of Odyssey Khartagos. I love the sound. The only con I can see to this setup is that I keep the SS amps on 24/7 but to conserve the tubes, I only turn them on when listening. This means I have to shut down the SS amps while I power up the tube amp so I don't damage my speakers.

So far, that is the only drawback.
zyphryx's avatar
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zyphryx
128 posts
 
That's exactly how I set up my system and I like it. I was doing so much streaming that I thought a tube preamp would add the right dimension and it has. I read about the Prima Luna Dialogue for a few years and finally added it to a pair of SS amps. The result is great. Only drawback is you can leave the SS amps on all the time but you have to switch them off when you turn on the tube preamp but that's the only drawback I've experienced over the years.
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