Mating Tube pre's with SS amps

Looks like I'm on to something here with all the positive feedback. Impedance problems should be avoided with a thorough demo in my system once I narrow down the competition. A new(used to me) Levinson 334 should be arriving in a week. Got a good deal. This reminds me of something I think should be the subject of its own post. I sorta feel sorry for those of us who have paid retail for some of this gear. Case in point, the 334. This sucker retail for what? $7000? Same story with my 360S DAC. In this economy, it's really a buyer's market for used hi-end gear. I wonder how much this cuts into the collective hi-end industry's bottom line? I read on the Levison site that the 360 was such a success since they sold 7500 units, and Levinson is a lot bigger than most audiophile companies. I've seen 5 sell only in the last 2 months on Audiogon. No wonder I've twice heard rumors about Levinson going out of business. They have scaled back/consolidated operations.
But I digress. For those of you who recommended Audio Research. One thing that has given me pause is the size of the power supply in units like the LS16. Actually, until I became aware of this criticism, I was in the market for a LS16 II. Warner, you recommend the 16, is yours a Mk. II? The second interation uses the same circuit improvements as the REf.II and the LS25II. Or some sort of trickle-down version of it anyway. Also do you use the Sovtek tube or NOS? What would you recommend? And since I listen to a lot of modern music, bass response is also a concern with tube gear. Thanks again for all the helpful posts.

Bass response shouldn't be a concern. Bass is very important to me and must be natural and dynamic without any sort of loss. I have VMPS Supertower/R SE speakers with four 15's and two 10's handling the bass. Bass is articulate and dynamic. This ARC LS 16, non II version, easily bested the Krell I was using before. The tubes I'm using are Sovteks. Tried some NOS and they were microphonic, although just a little, and that sound wasn't for me. Will be trying some different tubes again though. The Sovteks are also more quiet. I aim for accurate sound. A touch of euphonic sound is all the more I want as it seems you lose detail with too much tubey sound. In all it's a balancing act. What else is new? Try the tube pre though as I think you'll be surprised if you've only used SS gear like me. The tube pre will make the sound more natural or real. In effect more accurate. I tried 3 different dacs trying to get the sound into the area it's now in with the tube pre. Bought this little Cary AE 3 tube pre as a test and knew I was on the right track. The sound was rich and lush but slow and with a significant loss of detail. The Audio Research is very close to SS and is quite transparent. No loss of dynamics or any bass problems related to equipment here. Now the room acoustics are another story even though I've spent alot of time and money in that direction it seems there's always a little more to do. Good luck

I very much enjoy my combination of Sonic Frontiers Line 3 and Lamm M1.1 monoblocks.......

Warner, I've only owned a tubed unit once so they're still new to me. When people refer to microphonics do they mean a sort of feedback distortion caused by loud music (sound waves) affecting the tube? Kind of how loudspeaker sound gets into a mike, gets amplified and starts a cycle like that?

I don't know what exactly but I've always wanted to demo a sonic frontier the Sonic Frontiers 3. Maybe it's their DIY past. PeterB, are there any major sonic criticism you have with the unit? Fact is, I couldn't really demo one without buying it myself. Have you compared it or have any experience with BAT, Audio Research or other popular tubed pre to make a comparison? Thanks.