Tube vs SS Amp with a All Tube Preamp

To keep it simple, the tube amp is going to give you what you hoped you would get when you bought the tubed pre-amp. In spades. If your speakers are suited for tubes and you make a careful selection and you are not a head banger who just likes big tight bangs of some sort or another, you will never go back to SS. IMHO of course.

I think to make this discussion simple, we have to talk about amps first. There is a line of thinking that tube amps deliver a certain midrange bloom, openness, airiness, upper midrange smoothness, relaxation, that is difficult to duplicate with solid state design. On the other hand, tube circuits have difficulty delivering the overall dynamics, the bass weight and extension, and especiallly the woofer control, the ability to stop and start the bass driver in an instant, that solid state can.

To be sure, there are some very fine solid state amps available that have overcome the typical solid state drawbacks of upper midrange coolness and hardness and a mechanical sound that good tube amps lack. On the other hand, there are a handful of tube units which have very excellent extension at both ends of the frequency extremes and don't sound rolled off in the high frequencies or the lows. However, if you want the ultimate in woofer control, in my opinion, that can only come from a solid state amp.

One way which is deemed to give the best of the solid state and tube worlds is to use a tube preamp with a solid state amp. You can get the speed and dynamics and the bass weight and control of solid state while retaining the midrange bloom, airiness and lack of mechanical sound with tubes in the preamp. This can work very, very well and go a long way to solve the problems that each type of circuit supposedly has. But remember that today there are solid state amps and preamps that do not have that typical solid state sound and there are tube amps that have excellent bass weight and sufficient dynamics to not bear most of the typical drawbacks of tubes. On the other hand, although I have heard a handful of tube amps that have great power, dynamics and extension in the lows, in my opinion, there are certain characteristics that solid state amps can have that tubes will probably never be able to duplicate. As good as a handful of tube amps sound, they do not sound like solid state in these characteristics. Those that will tell you different have dismissed these characteristics as not being important and are not listening for them, which is their right to do, as we all have our own listening biases.

I would forget about tube vs. solid state debate. A great deal of the work in getting a good system is knowing which units work well with which (matching). At the highest level of execution today, this debate is nearly passe.

I respectfuly suggest you search the archives.

If you have a cold/sterile amp a good tube pre will give it some warmth.Only so much.I believe that one of the greatest things about a tube pre is how many fewer parts you can use.
Fewer parts better sound.
If you really want that tube 3d effect you need a tube amp.You can even use a ss preamp you will still get that 3d effect in the mid range.

Thanks for the responses its very helpful.

Autodexr, what speakers do you plan on using? That has a lot to do with whether or not a tube amp makes sense for you. I agree with Newbee that if your speakers are tube friendly (basically a smooth impedance curve, and the higher the impedance the better)than I don't think you will find an SS amp that will sound as good overall as a tube amp; at least that is the case for my ears. I want to love an SS amp, and I've tried excellent ones (always with a tube preamp, occassionaly some passives), but ultimately no SS amp does for me what a tube amp does, most expecially OTLs - my ears, my taste. If you do go with an SS amp, you should at least try to get a Class A amp that tends to have a more "tube-like" sound signature (Pass Aleph amp for example).

first of all, what tube amp and what solid state amp exactly? What speakers? What preamp?

DartZeel solid state amp vs Audio Mirror tube amp?

See what I mean? Be more specific.

My system is as follow

Sonus Faber Concertos (Bookshelf speakers)
Granite Audio 770FP Tube Preamp
B and K 2220 Solid State Reference Preamp
VPI Scout
Vandersteen 2wq

Thanks for the help

I think with the 2Wq, any possible disadvantage of certain tube amps for producing bass is greatly diminished. You seem to have a good set up with your speakers for tubes.

what are you looking for? more resolution, more detail, bigger soundstage, more imaging precision, etc.

Without any specific amplifiers being mentioned or brought up for comparison, I really find this impossible to answer.
How can this be generalized?

What is faster, a sedan or an SUV? Can anyone answer this question?

Audphile1, your right, and at the same time I think it is possible to answer the general question. Assuming you can distinquish between the general sonic signature of tubes versus SS, does having a tube pre and amp get your more of the tube performance than what is generally possible by just using a tube pre amp with an SS amp. I'm not going to argue whether or not with some of the best equipment there is a convegence of the performance of tubes with SS and vice versa (I've not yet heard evidence of that, but some claim there is and perhaps it is so)- but as a general answer to a general question, I think Newbee's response at the start of thread is basically right, but of course with specific equipment and combinations the general "rule" might not apply - that is true. So yes, if you get a tube amp, there will generally be more "tubiness" than if you use a tube preamp with a SS amp IMHO. Now if the SS amp were a Pass Aleph, or Ayre VX1, perhaps less so.

Pubul57, you made your point. Agreed, as far as general idea....but still we are really not even scratching a surface.

I still think that without mentioning a specific product, we are simply applying buzzwords to stereotypes.

Sorry. I guess I am bit particular when it comes to questions like this.

Audphile 1, I generally agree with you.