Phono/preamp/amp chain. One of them tube the others SS. Which one?

If limited to just one tube chassis in the chain, I would choose a SS phono stage, tube line stage, and SS amp, as rcprince has chosen.

Fortunately, I am not limited, and all three stages in my chain are tubed.

It appears that everyone would start with tube preamp.
My current system is more or less balanced, and whenever I am ready to upgrade anything, except perhaps the cartridge, this in fact would be the beginning of an entire system overhaul or totally new system. In a situation when I have outboard phono stage but integrated amp with no pre out/ power amp in, getting tube preamp would mean getting some power amp too. I like to wait and upgrade in big steps. But I am going to keep my Nottingham Spacedeck/Spacearm and Nakamichi 682ZX deck for a very long time, the rest can go.

I would use a tube pre. Mine is passive pre and ss for the others but I have a good Tube pre also

I have tried all of the combinations. My preference is tube preamp, SS phono and SS amps.

Inna, or anyone else who has auditioned a number of phono amps; could you explain the improvement over whatever cartridge is on the input. As I explained, I get out, what I put in; others have implied they get out something better than what the cartridge puts out, and well they should with the price of some phono amps.

My question is simply, what improvements do you get over what the cartridge puts out?


Enjoy the music.