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Tube Phono with Tube Integrated Amp?

what are the drawbacks (if any) of this setup?  

i recently acquired a VPI Prime (amazing) with a Soundsmith Zephyr MKIII.   using a ProJect Tube Box S (which was a phenomenal upgrade for my previous ProJect Carbon table).  right now, running this through a vintage Kenwood KA-9100, powering Elac UniFi's bookshelf speakers. 

i'm looking to build a 2 channel system that i can grow with, so please disregard the amp/speakers for now.  I've read great things about the Manley Chinook and the Allnic H1201.   in the event that i upgrade to a tube integrated amp in the future, is there any downside?
i've read on this forum that a tube phono is better paired with a solid state amp.  



mjb87062017

Showing 2 responses by jollytinker

jollytinker
213 posts
 
Seems to me that hybridity is the sweet spot for a lot of designers. My Doshi (tube) phono stage has a SS step up as its first gain stage, like the Chinook. My Art Audio Jota amp is a classic (at this point?) SET tube amp, but it has transistors for power regulation, and the output transformers have a lot do with its sound and its flexibility regarding speakers.  So point is, the SS/tube debate can really be overblown. 

I think the OP is right in noticing that it's a "thing" to pair a tube preamp with a solid state amp, but I think the conventional wisdom there is oversimplified. 


jollytinker
213 posts
 
@lewm - no disagreement here. It's just something I've heard bandied about as a little 'factoid' among people into audio, and not just online. Maybe it's a generational thing? guys that are younger than me speak knowledgeably about getting the benefits of tubes in the preamp, and the power and "cleanness" (goes the story) of SS in the power amp. I don't actually think it's true, I'm just reporting. (Btw I read your post on impedance matching with great interest. And as I said, my phono stage has a FET MC input, and I ain't complaining). 
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