A hearty Amen to both above posts. Redkiwi has it right. The conventional "wisdom" that's been floated for decades is that combining a tube preamp with a solid state amp gives you "the best of both worlds". IMHO, this may be valid if your musical tastes run heavily into rock or synthesizers and/or your speakers are power-hungry or present a difficult load. For all-around enjoyment of all types of music, rock included, my wife and I are both convinced it takes a tube amp to "deliver the goods". We've certainly had more than enough of both SS and tubed pass through our front door over the past twenty years. The only SS amps that haven't yet worn out their welcome are the Monarchy Delux 100s. These may not be the best SS has to offer, but are quite musical and a very good buy when discounted.
