The sound of glasswear


There has been lots of talk here about the virtues of using tube preamps with solid state power amps . I'm faced with the opposite possibility , I love my solid mistake preamp way to much to part with her and am wondering if a tube power amp would be a good move . I'm not complaining about any aspect of the sound now , But an amp is in the near future and I don't want to close the door and my ears on any technology , see system link for details if you must . Will this work or has anyone tried this with a fairly large tube amp ?
tmsorosk
From looking at these links, neither seems to support the kind of scenario that involves a preamp. They both look like some sort of malfunction in the amplifier.

Many SS amps use a protection relay or similar circuit to detect DC at the output of the amp and either disconnect the speaker or shut the amp down to prevent damage. A relay that disconnects the speaker will be an impediment to getting the best sound out of the amp, so (oddly) we are back to where we were in the 1960s when speaker protection circuits were rare.
A couple of links of the net about newer amps still going DC, and blowing speakers. [http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/116149-cambridge-audio-a5i-blown-speakers.html][http://www.htguide.com/forum/printthread.php4?t=34748]
All of the tube amps Ive run, would just run out of power, or make racket through speakers, but not go DC.
A lot of amps go DC by accident. Different songs with different volume, Accidentally cueing down with volume up. Years back I had company with kids, they ran through the room (when they weren't supposed to,not mine) and bumped right into my rack. When I seen the arm bounce, I got a sick feeling, sure enough when it landed of the record, kaboom followed by silence. Amp smoking, and fried speakers. Cheap amps like Cambridge?, no protection, amps like Krell, works sometimes. I'll stick with fuses. They work.
"A quick Google of it happening still seems the same."...what? I just googled and found nothing that mattered. If an idiot cranks an amp up all the way and the speaker cone jumps across the room I refuse to count that as gear related issues. I'm thinking about speakers that have blown near me since 1967. My keyboard player turned off the preamp of a ridiculous, gigantic, badly set up live system he was using (borrowed from the main act) at a disco in Hawaii in 1977...blew up the speakers. That's about it, other than loudness abuse here and there.

03-20-11: Wolf_garcia
I thought the era of amp related blown speakers was over...maybe 20 years ago. Even while running sound at concerts using thousand watt pro amps I haven't had those issues since maybe 1977...am I lucky? (rhetorical question...don't answer) I had a pro amp blow up at a show (internal loose screw shorted something) and lost a channel...pain in the ass...but in a small show I always could double up on a channel of a stereo amp. Even that didn't hurt the speaker.
Wolf_garcia (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

A quick Google of it happening still seems the same.
I thought the era of amp related blown speakers was over...maybe 20 years ago. Even while running sound at concerts using thousand watt pro amps I haven't had those issues since maybe 1977...am I lucky? (rhetorical question...don't answer) I had a pro amp blow up at a show (internal loose screw shorted something) and lost a channel...pain in the ass...but in a small show I always could double up on a channel of a stereo amp. Even that didn't hurt the speaker.
I've ran combination's of the two ever since SS started. No problems! And yes, I still am. I've never had a tube amp blow a speaker either. I've lost count of the number of the speakers that were blown with SS power amps. I use fuses for my speaker any time they're hooked up to a SS power amp. Some will say I'm loosing a little sound quality, but it's sure better that no speakers, if they were to get blown from SS power amps. I'm listening to a tube power amp, driven by a SS preamp as I post this.
Hey Audiofeil- Quit beating around the bush, and just say what's on your mind! LOTF/LMAO
Thanks Audiofeil. It sounded wacky to me as well, which seemed confirmed when I asked for details and didn't receive a reply.
To answer the above , I don't no if the Salons are tube friendly or not , there very neutral , I had used them with ARC's Ref 3 pre for a few years with no problem .
I have considered the MXR's but I am also using the Ayre C5MP CD player and seem to be getting alot of the Ayre sound already , I was afraid a third Ayre product might be to much of a good thing .
My local dealer sells ARC , but only stock the HD220 hybrid , I'm not a big fan .
The 610T is a bit out of my reach , the Ref210 would fit the bill but it would be buy before you try as they don't stock these amps , and the Ref210's 200 watt output is also 200w at 4ohm . My currant Levinsons 200w at 8ohm and 400w at 4ohm is just sufficient . Regards Tim
>>03-17-11: Stringreen
Solid state tends to come online more immediately than do tubes. As tubes warm, they sometimes create low sonic pulses that can damage a speaker under certain instances. When the 2 units are turned on together, the preamp opens sooner while the amp is warming, and there go the speakers. It is better to have all solid state, or all tube<<

It doesn't get any dumber than this folks.
Maybe "pain in the ass" was harsh...I was referring to the fact that tubes are always in a state of flux, thus you have to monitor them for subtle changes as they die (in guitar amps I really don't care as long as they're biased and not burning up...preamp tubes last so long I sort of forget about them). SS gear (in my experience anyway) just keeps on truckin' with no audible degradation for a very long time.
my set up has a ss pre and a tube amp. i think the ss lends itself to more accuracy and less distortion when placed closer to the source.
Tubes were supposed to be obsoleted about 50 years ago. Funny thing- in most industries they are, but not in the field of audio. Must be a reason, huh?
I have a Nagra PL-L paired with MX-Rs and it is something to behold. Way better I thought than an entire CJ setup.
Three decades of experience with SS pres and tubes amps(in MY listening rooms). Never had a problem with a speaker, or considered a tubed amp a, "pain in the ass." Biasing the outputs is as complicated as it gets, and tube replacement just goes with the territory.
Choose one (both are correct): 1. Tube amps are a pain in the ass. 2. Tube amps are fun.
TMSOROSK,

Have you heard the mx-r with the KX-R? Holy smokes man that is a hard combo to beat. I have seen the mx-r paired with tube pre but not the other way around. That is what I have but I am sure you can match the KX-R with tube amp.
Stringreen,
I have never heard of that either, could you give more details?
A tubed amp that damages speakers warming up? First I heard of that?
Love those 5a's you got though..... one day maybe...
Solid state tends to come online more immediately than do tubes. As tubes warm, they sometimes create low sonic pulses that can damage a speaker under certain instances. When the 2 units are turned on together, the preamp opens sooner while the amp is warming, and there go the speakers. It is better to have all solid state, or all tube.
I've been using a modded Tact RCS 2.2aaa and a pair of Cary tubed monoblocks, for a number of years now. A wonderful degree of realism. My tweaked BAT VK-D5 has to be adding to the equation, as well(as far as digital). Don't hesitate to experiment!
It should work with no problem. I have used a passive with VTL amps and for a short time used the passive with my ASL Hurricanes. Sounded excellant. The output impedance of your Ayre should be low enough to work with any tube amp