Tube Pre-Amp or Tube Amplifier

[Kingpin5]

I'm a little hazy on this and the answer is probably self-evident.

Question one: Which is more important to sound: A tube Pre Amp? or a Tube Amplifier?

Question two: If the Amplifier is more important, can a SS pre amp feed into a tubed amp and will the results be similar or better? Or will it blow the tube amp?

 

[zackthedog]

You can use any preamp with any amplifier, provided both are within industry specs. Nothing will "blow". . The only thing to watch out for is gain-matching, that is, making sure sure the preamp doesn't have too much or too little gain for your amplifier, otherwise you might either overdrive the input of the amplifier, or lose dynamics if you don't have enough gain. Except for some "boutique" pieces, this should not be a problem.

In terms of which is better, it really depends on your needs. How much power do you need to drive your speakers? If they require a lot of power, a SS amp might be better, with a tube preamp to add some tube sound. Tube preamps are generally very easy to maintain. Tube amplifiers, OTOH, can require some maintenance and expense, usually checking tube bias and replacing output tubes on a regular basis. They also generate a lot of heat.

But if your speakers are fairly easy to drive, and you want to hear the full-on tube magic, a tube amplifier will get you more of that than a tube preamp alone.

A high-quality tube preamp can be just as good as a SS preamp, so it really depends on the sound you prefer. One advantage (or some may say disadvantage) of a tube preamp (or amp) is that you can usually adjust the tone by choosing different brands of tubes. SS preamps and amps are what they are. Hope this helps.

 

[Wally1955]

Aloha
Easy answer this great sounding Combo deliver all to my ears what they want hear
2 X Elekit 898/300B
Kenwood KA-7002
JBL 4301B , L26 or L19
Cheers

 

[zackthedog]

Aloha
Easy answer this great sounding Combo deliver all to my ears what they want hear
2 X Elekit 898/300B
Kenwood KA-7002
JBL 4301B , L26 or L19
Cheers

View attachment 1526076

When I was in college and fervently interested in swing-era jazz, I used to frequent a little record shop in downtown Orlando. An older guy who worked there stocked the jazz LP's and we became good friends. On several occasions he invited me to his home to listen to his vast collection of 78's. They filled a tiny spare bedroom packed with shelves, and he played them on an old KLH Model 20 system, with the speakers propped up on stacks of LP's. Totally non-audiophile and totally enjoyable.

 

[mashaffer]

Depends on who you ask. My feeling is that the preamp task is easy enough that even transistors can handle it. But seriously I expect that the difference between a good SS preamp and a good tubed one would be less evident than for power amps because the signal level and the load are much less demanding but I admit to not having as much real world experience as many others here.