Does a tube preamp warm up sound of SS amp?

Ckoffend or others, thanks for all the help. What do you think is a warmer sounding amp that will give me enough power (at least 400 watts/channel into 4 ohms)? Also, any thoughts on the Audio Research LS5 MKII Tube Preamp?

Well, VK from BAT just pointed out that I'm all wet in another forum.

However I did my measurements before, I obviously did them incorrectly.

Feeding the balanced input of my Bryston 3B-SST from my BAT 3iX, I just measure the output from the speaker terminals with a voltmeter (HP 400E), and it stays within .25 dB down to about 50 Hz, and is down about 2 dB at 20 Hz. Not optimal, but probably not that audible a rolloff.

My apologies to everyone for the confusion.

Now that I hopefully have my head out of my ass, the answer to the original question is: yes. A neutral SS amp will let the warmth of tubes come through, particularly if you choose some good NOS tubes.

Ldworet, I think it would totally depend on the preamp. Some tube preamps don't sound particularly tube like. That being said, I would look for a tube preamp that sounds warm and tube like. Can you borrow a few and see which one works best in your system? I have a YBA 2HCDT and an old Audio Research SP-3C and it definitely takes on the character of the preamp. Also your interconnects can make a difference with the sound of your system. Do you have an idea about which tube preamp interests you? G

Ldworet - in reply to your follow up regarding amps:

Others may be better able to respond to this than I. I personally don't seek warmth in my amps. I am more prone to neutral to detailed than neutral to warm (so that should be considered along with my recommendations).

That being said, looking for a "warmer" SS amp with pretty higher power, I would consider investigating the following:

McIntosh large SS amps ($$$), these are a smoother amp than I like, but I think you really are seeking smooth and not just warmth (which may be confusing to some).
The BAT 250 and higher with BatPak could be another choice, they are supposed to sound warmer (or more tubelike) that say a Krell (as an example). You can get these used at pretty reasonable prices (from what I have seen).
Pass labs newest amps, like the 160 monos (but I think these are a lot of money at the moment). But these amps are designed to operate at higher power in Class A and Nelson Pass likes that smooth (almost tube-like sound as evidenced in his Aleph series, etc. . .).

Since I don't have much useful experience with your speakers, I would suggest what others are running with them. I think their assistance should be better than mine.

I think you are better off looking for a neutral or not "cold" power amp than one that is warm. Continue the approach of pursuing the tubed pre for the warmth you are seeking. I think going with a "warm" amp and a "warm" tubed preamp may be asking for or delivering too much warmth.

Personally, I would not suggest getting into a tubed amp if you don't already have some experience with tubes. I would suggest starting with the tubed preamp and SS amp as you suggest. If after taking this approach and falling in love with the tubed preamp, you want to move to a tubed amp (knowing a bit more about tubes), then that may be a reasonable approach.

FYI - if you decide to go with a tubed preamp, tubed amp and those speakers you should know that you will have a higher maintenance system if you plan to keep it long term. This is not bad, but you should be aware of it. In that situation, every major component you own will require maintenance, just like a car. I am talking about power amp tubes (most frequent), preamp tubes (at least every 2-3 years, and that's if you don't tube roll regularly) and even the speakers in about 10 years will need replacement parts (Mag owners should chime in here as my timeframe is just an estimate. I owned Logans and figured those panels needed to be replaced more frequently than every 10 years).