Matching Pre-amps and Amps: Same Brand or Not?

mullard88

Well-Known Member
Jun 5, 2010
948
62
1,588
I like to have it all. Tube amps, solid state amps, hybrid amps, solid state line stage, tube line stage. It does not matter whether the electronics in the chain are from a single brand or not. It's the music, how the music is presented, how I can listen for hours without fatigue, and how much fun I get from the presentation that matters.
 

Khorn

Member
Sep 21, 2021
26
22
8
81
…North York (Toronto) Canada
For the last 20 years or so I ran all SS amplification in my system. . Prior to that I had run all types of combinations from all tubes to tube preamps/SS amps and all SS.

I just bought a whole new main system retaining the speakers that I have used steadily for over 40 years now and wanted to get a tube stage back into my system. The best sound that I had before came from a tube preamp driving a SS power amplifier.

I had decided on the SS amplifier that I wanted and found a great tube pre to drive it of another make as the amp company only makes SS stuff.

The result is the best sound by far that I’ve ever experienced with any amplification system driving my speakers. For me mix and match certainly has paid off big time.
 

Willgolf

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2019
595
1,006
215
69
Gold Canyon, Az
For the last 20 years or so I ran all SS amplification in my system. . Prior to that I had run all types of combinations from all tubes to tube preamps/SS amps and all SS.

I just bought a whole new main system retaining the speakers that I have used steadily for over 40 years now and wanted to get a tube stage back into my system. The best sound that I had before came from a tube preamp driving a SS power amplifier.

I had decided on the SS amplifier that I wanted and found a great tube pre to drive it of another make as the amp company only makes SS stuff.

The result is the best sound by far that I’ve ever experienced with any amplification system driving my speakers. For me mix and match certainly has paid off big time.
So what amp and pre-amp did you end up with?
 

Raker24

Well-Known Member
Jul 27, 2020
81
81
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Having used tube preamplifiers (BAT, Brinkmann, Einstein, & VAC in the past, and now Nagra) together with solid state amplifers (Adyton Cordis 3B & various Accuphase Class A models in the past, and now TAD M600 monos) for many years, I sympathize completely with the sentiment that a combination of tube preamp and solid state power amplifier is hard to beat in terms of musicality and overall "rightness" or "balance".

I have also, sparingly used solid state preamps in the past, Pass and Accuphase come to mind. As well, the passive resistor preamp by Audio Synthesis (now defunct) and the passive transformer preamp by Music First Audio, and no preamp at all (Meridien digital).

At the end of the day, everything is a compromise or balancing of different parameters, and the goal is to achieve that specific balance which sounds right to you (not necessarily to others). So enjoy!
 

The Knife

Well-Known Member
Nov 13, 2020
141
103
115
Stockholm, Sweden
Or you just get an integrated! From Technics. Oh man, this is one good piece of equipment. It is hands down the best integrated amp under 10,000 USD. And from build quality alone, probably the best one under 20,000 USD. And you cant show me a nicer looking amp for under 30,000 USD ;-).

Now in my Set up :).

Kicked out an old McIntosh 7270 that had no chance in any spectrums of the music. Technics technic truly shines.
 

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