Your tube preamp and ss amp thread

PS Audio BHK Pre with Pass Labs XA60.5 works for me. :-)

BAT VK51SE pre and Krell FBP-300 amp. One of the great Dan D'Agastino class A designs from before he left Krell.

While I have often paired tube preamps w/ SS power amps and believe this route often makes great sense, the pairing of amp and speakers is far more important. IMHO, the preamp choice is more independent unless you have a relatively rare impedance mismatch.

If you are dipping your toe into tubes for the first time, preamps are certainly a simpler and less costly way to do so. Tube rolling options are WAY more available (vs. rolling tube power amps) and will allow tuning to your personal taste easily and at modest cost. Cheers,
Spencer  

Modwright LS100 and Herron Audio M1 monoblocks. The LS100 will soon be replaced by a Herron Audio VTSP-360.

ARC LS 26 and Wyred 4 Sound ST-1000 mkII in my bedroom system. 

Rogue Audio Metis Magnum preamp/McCormack DNA-125 power amp.

VAC Renaissance V into an Ayre VX5/20.  Used this pair for 5 years with great satisfaction. 

Supratek Cabernet 300B/6SN7 output into Belles SA30 class A

Modwright LS100 tube pre with Modwright KWA100SE ss amp

I have a Supratech 6SN7/DHT pre amp mated to the AGD Audion mono blocks. A true upper class combination, i use the 45 tube option.

I have run a Audio Research tube preamp with a Pass X350 for over ten years. An excellent combination. I had stayed away from tube amps because of the reliability ‘ biasing need. Then a couple years ago the Audio Research rep came through with the new ARC REF 160m (mono blocks). Micro processor controlled tubes... no biasing and greatly increased tube life... finally I thought. As soon as the REF 160s comes out I’m getting one. I did. As soon as I swapped it in I realized I should have put up with a tube amp earlier. The richness of the midrange and bass simply isn’t in the same ballpark.

The Pass XA series will be more like tubes. If you are headed that way. I think it would be a really difficult transition. But I would go with Pass, he is an outstanding amplifier designer.

I like the tube preamp and SS power amp combo. You should try it both ways because tubes always fail and power amp tubes are more costly. If you have to re-bias the tubes each time, that is also a pain. A lot of people are into class D power amps, I haven't tried one myself.

Yes major differences but probably more due to overall design of specific amps used than the general operating Class. 
I would say sound of the Class D Bel Canto amps I use currently resembles sound I have heard in the past with Krell and Classe amps.  Makes dynamic speakers sound more like electrostats (think quad and ML). Very fast effortless and clean but also with dynamics intact.  

Good question. If anyone has tried tube preamp + SS amps, plural, I'm curious whether there were sonic differences traceable to the kind of solid state. E.g., 

tube + class A
vs. 
tube + class A/B
vs.
tube + class D
etc.

Quicksilver Line Stage into a heavily modded Odyssey Khartago (into Klipsch Heresy IV’s). The quicksilver will probably be swapped for something else (possibly Decware CSP3, AVA Vision or...?)

I run an Allnic L1500 into a Benchmark AHB2. What stands out most with this combo is the incredible dynamics. I have no desire to revert to a full-tube amp in my main system. 

I actually just bought a ss amp (Modright 100SE) for summer use,and my tube amp will be idle until fall.My Dac and pre are both tubed.
I like the extra power and not thinking about the care and feeding of valves for now:-)It took a little fussing with switching out cables to get it to play well with my Harbeths,as it has high- ish gain which isn't adjustable like the Aric Audio amp.

In my main system, it has always been a tube preamp and solid state amp.  Presently a Mac C2500 tube pre and a Mac MC302 solid state stereo amp.