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Tube power amp match SS preamp?

This is fascinating. Opinions so differ. Most people like their SS pre and tube amp. Some say the pre makes the most difference in sound so it needs to be tube if you want tube sound. I'm never going to understand all of this I can tell.
 
RDSChicago said:
Great suggestion! Perhaps a tube DAC would be up my alley since I need a DAC anyway. Any suggestions for tube DAC's?
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I have NO frame of reference, but what a brand new Maverick D2 (running through the TUBE output; there is also a non tube output) with the optional OP amps and NOS Jan tube has done to my SS system (Outlaw preamp and 2 Crown XTI amps) is enough to induce tears!

Mind you, my main system is all tube, but even on this (my computer) system, the hours just fly by with no listener fatigue. It has come a LONG way from the computer output from that sound card! Very rich tone indeed.
 
I have a Pioneer rack with SPEC1, SPEC4, TX9500II, CT-F100,and RT-707. Have a turntable on top, with an extra shelf above it for a CD/DVD player. The SPEC 1 has an extra output which I use to feed a Maggie 9304. The Maggie sounds great using the SPEC 1 preamp, and I get to use all of the Rack components to feed either system. Somedays I feel like Solid State, Some days Tubes.
 
This is the route I'm going as my pre has a lot of desirable controls for me.
And I have all the parts to build a tube power amp. In Beta it sounded pretty sweet.
 
hwystar said:
This is fascinating. Opinions so differ. Most people like their SS pre and tube amp. Some say the pre makes the most difference in sound so it needs to be tube if you want tube sound. I'm never going to understand all of this I can tell.
Click to expand...

I obviously collect/hoarde tons of home audio gear, and also own a live sound reinforcement company. In pro audio, gain structure and signal path are really important concepts to understand. The simplest way to put it is Garbage In = Garbage Out...

In any system, you start with a source signal, which is a small signal that is then "processed" or "colored" via preamplification stages and then fed to a power amp to bring it up to speaker level output. The greatest audible effect/alteration to that signal is done in the preamplification/proccessing stages and then magnified at the power amplification stage. A decent/good amplifier should do one thng... amplify whatever small signal is fed to it... there may be some coloration of that signal attributable to the amp, but the greatest magnitude of alteration is via the source and preamplification stages before the power amp. This is why I recommend tubes in the front end as a start to dabbling into tubes, because this is where you will audibly notice the greatest effect.

Hopefully, this will give you a little insight...
 
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