I was thinking about my next upgrades. What makes more sense: Tube preamp with ss amp ss preamp with tube amp.
I want to introduce tubes into my system, but I do some hometheatre also. My speakers are 87db sensitivty.
Thinking about getting a SF line one and a Musical Fidelity A3.2CR power amp. What do you think? Currently have sonus faber speakers, B&K reference preamp.
I agree with KF, especially because 87 db is a good reason to go with a SS amp and tubed pre. The combo you mentioned sounds intriguing. Haven't heard the MF, but the SF Line 1 is a nice preamp.
A tubed preamp will give you that tooby sound and a solid state amp will provide slam and control of your speakers- at 87db, you could use a little oomph to get them going. Preamp tubes are also much cheaper than power tubes and last longer too.
Several years ago I was in the same position. I wanted to try tubes but I was not sure which arrangement worked best. After a little thought I bought a Counterpoint Tube pre-amp and ran it with a couple of different SS amps. It gave the sound described by Banksfriend. The smooth tube sound without the lack of bass some people talk about. I enjoyed this setup for about five years before giving up on tubes but I would not try to discourage you from trying the same thing. It might be the perfect sound for your ears. I just got tired of the tube maintenence. Good luck and have fun!
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