tube preamp w/ solid state amp


are there any problems in using a tube preamp with a solid state amp? any guidelines in mixing tubes and solid state?
thanks in advance
chameleon

Showing 1 response by larryi

There is nothing inherently wrong with running tube preamp/linestage into solid state or vice versa. Some tube linestages have a high output impedance and should be matched to a linestage with a high input impedance. That is typically the case with a tube amp, but not necessarily the case with a solid state amp. A mismatch may result in frequency response being less than totally flat.

The other consideration is a practical one. Solid state gear takes a VERY long time to warm up, but draws relatively little current at idle, so a lot of people leave solid state amps on all the time. A tube linestage should be turned off when not in use. That may create problems because one should NOT turn off an on components in front of an active amp (could result in very loud noise/damage to the speakers). One would need to find a way to mute the output of the linestage or input of the amp if the linestage is to be turned off and on while the amp remains running all of the time.