Once again...looking for a "tube like" SS preamp

None of them have the harmonic richness of dimensionality that tubes can give.

Mikey, have you heard a TEAD Vibe7 with Pulse II? I am not going to argue that it is the same as a tubed preamp, but it certainly has the harmonic richness and dimensionality you indicate are lacking in the SS preamps you have heard, and it certainly sounds different than all the other SS preamps I have owned or heard.

After years of trying many different tubed and SS preamps, the Vibe/Pulse is the one preamp I can live with and have no regrets. Thats why I think the OP should give it a try if he really wants a SS preamp. The absence of balanced outputs should also not be a concern as I use mine into Jensen transformers for the rca/XLR conversion then into balanced amps with no sonic penalty whatsoever that I can hear.

The last time I counted, there were "eleventy eleven dozen" SS pre's that sounded "tubelike". Are there any SS pre's left that sound SS. The logic of buying a SS pre that sounds "tubelike" eludes me. I'm sure there are many who can enlighten me in regard to this matter.

"The last time I counted, there were "eleventy eleven dozen" SS pre's that sounded "tubelike". Are there any SS pre's left that sound SS. The logic of buying a SS pre that sounds "tubelike" eludes me. I'm sure there are many who can enlighten me in regard to this matter."

Orpheus10 I'm sure your question is rhetorical but please let me make a stab at the REAL question and concern :)

"I want a ss preamp that has the harmonic richness, 3d palpability, believability factor, being drawn into the performance just like I hear with tubes but I don't want tubes, I want the plug and play convenience of ss. I DON'T want to deal with the hassle of tubes including wondering when the tubes are not operating at specifications, when to change, what tubes to use, my perception that they are just too much maintenance. Now please tell me what ss preamp to buy"

It is my experience that the best tube preamps can do EVERYTHING a great ss preamp can do, but the best ss preamp can't do what ALL tube preamps can even at the budget end of the spectrum, let you know that tubes are in the circuit for better or worse. The electrical characteristics of the two devices are different. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. If you don't want to hassle with tubes, get a ss preamp. If you love the sound that tubes present, get a tube preamp. I don't see any middle ground on this issue. There are some very nice ss preamps out there, make your choice and live with it but never the two shall be the same. If you want to lessen your exposure to tubes but want "tube sound" better to go tube preamp and ss amp.

Orpheus10 has a point. As a group we cannot agree on what is tube like sound, hence we get a huge range of choices for solid state that sound like tubes. There's inexpensive tubes, vintage tubes, modern tubes and modern/expensive tube sounds. They all sound different. The OP doesn't tell us why he can't use a tube pre and is considering going with a Bryston as a substitute. Go figure!

In all honesty Tubegroover, I have owned and still own 3 tube pre's. The first was a PV-10 in the mid 80's. My next pre was an Audible Illusions in 92. We moved in 99 and I failed to take the tubes out of the pre's; that's a "no no", movers and tubes do not mix, the tubes had to be replaced.

A few years ago I bought a PV-12 on the Gon with NOS tubes already in it, and I love it. All of my pre's have NOS tubes and they sound fine. The last time I bought tubes was over 10 years ago, all NOS from Brent Jesse.

When I got into the "high end", there were quite a few emporiums and you could audition most of the equipment you read about in "Stereophile". I spent so much time in those places, that when I got home late one evening, my wife asked me "What's her name?". There is never a good answer to that question. While the places I went to had Adcom, Rotel and a few other SS names, their most expensive and best was tube CJ and ARC. When your ears witness what happens when you replace CJ or ARC with Adcom or Rotel, they will never forget the effervescent sound of tubes. I have never had any of the hassles you mentioned with tubes. Have you experienced this or is it a perception?

As a music lover, life is too short to deprive yourself of a music lovers greatest pleasure, "an eargasm!" There are SS lovers who get "eargasms", but it's because they like a different type of sound and music, that's why we have the both of them.