tube pre amp or tube amp

Hi

I thihnk the person who said, glass pre plus SS power has a certain something is on to something there.

SS power does develop better bass than will tubes.

I've been in the process of discovering myself. for some eyars now, and when I get the notion I need to change something I really enjoy 'as is', somethings up besides sound quality. as said, change for the sake of change points elsewhere. not at the system.

the second astute point made was about the apparent sole source, the CDP.

I've been all about the source being the key to any outfit. the better or deeper into those waters one can get, the better.

transports just do not age well or last forever. along the way the resolution slowly declines and one gets used to that sound as it dies. replacing it holds a whole new bag of worms waiting for it to break in!! I went thru that with a Sony XA 777 SCDP.

given the orig Q, I would say....

If at all possible put some $$$ into a DAC which gives you options with more sources and formats, and an upgrade or update path from the maker. 

Or... 

don't trade or sell off something to buy another something given you enjoy what you have now. simply wait a tad longer and 'add' a new piece to the existing rig.

having on hand a second preamp, or amp of differgin topologies and or brands is always an outstanding option.

if a DAC is not the top choice, I'd go in for an SS amp. great bass does so much for the things residing above it, its nearly a 'must' have thing for me to dig a rig.

of course, there are other areas where one can pitch money and as such, improve or re-arrange one's SQ. Isolation. cabling. racks. Room acoustics.

all that said, I do dig where this is coming from completely.

I finally had put together the best sounding rig I'd ever owned and then sold it off just to try an all tube affair. that one turned out just as good but in a different sort of manner. 

for me to be able to have no further arguments on which this, or what that, I need two separate rigs. one all tube, and something else.

... but that's just me.

good luck

good call Ralph.

you are right it is NOT a universal axiom that sS will always yield better bottom end resolution. although it do seem to work more often than not in a number of varied applications.

countless threads here seem to be seeking the same additive aspect, better low end reproduction. and the common solution almost regardless the speaker type is to insert an SS amp as a replacement or as an addition to be dedicated to the bass drivers., for that express purpose.

it’s been talked about so much for so long, it just seems the ‘go to’ option/problem folks tend to look towards without as well replacing or exchanging speakers too..

there was no mention of the OP desiring new speakers so assumptions were made out of hand.

re-reading the initial choices per se, LLam pre  or  PL 60wpc monos as the only options then hearing Nola Metros were the transducers, I’d go with upgrading the source instead.

either via the addition of a new DAC which as well can double as a preamp perhaps, but not necessarily. JIC.

adding such a piece brings far more options for music than what is currently the norm. especially when streaming music is then on the table.

I only have a sub to Apple music presently for exploring and playing files I don’t own. that single option has kept me more sane and opened far more doors to new music, and new artists than I had thought would be the case going in!

however, could it be the apparent stagnation and thoughts for a hardware upgrade in the power train is aimed at just obtaining a different sound?

nothing wrong with that at all. been therre done that too.

I feel the addition of a current dAC along the lines of what either the Llamm or Pass amps cost  is best spent elsewhere given the current sQ is more than acceptable.

I saw recently here an EMM Labs dAC x2 was up for $7k. I would jump on that without hesitation were it me and I had the OP rig.

but there are more DAC options for sure…

adding a DAC to my former system (s) was  one of the, best moves I ever made. 

it changed the SQ. it changed the presentation remarkably. this was prior to all this streaming music explosion and file playback from hard drives was just getting going.  

1 adding a new dAC to even a very good CDP adds a new sound, often one with greater resolution and fidelity

2 new dAC can act as preamps very often settling at least one more score & yielding another option and a fail safe plan.

3 A new dAC capable of the latest formats and streaming opens new doors presetnly closed

4 having new music one doesn’t have to buy and inventory  is for many, a plus.

a different  preamp or amp adds exactly that, ’different’ sound, but not more musical options AND better/different sound as well. 

otherwise… loving the vAC amp, I’d seriously consider simply upgrading it and bringing in VAC’s latest effort in the 200 IQ amp.

there is a youtube video showing the Nola Metros running off a CDP/DAC driving one of the 200 IQs at a show. a simple setup but it sure seemed interesting.

regardless, good luck…