Tubes? OH YES!!! But where? Hmmm....

SS amp, tube pre gives you solid, tight bass coupled with the liquidity and sweetness of tube mids and highs. As always, the right equipment choice makes the difference. Good luck!

I'm running Vandy 2CE's with a SF Power II and QuickSilver preamp. Neutal mid and highs, but a bottom end that is just awsome. I also run a Cary 2A3 SE sometimes, with an improvement the upper end but do loose some down stairs. The SF will keep your room warm in the winter, while the Cary runs very cool.

I would also suggest a Tube preamp and SState power amp. You get the best of both worlds. Going the other way with a SState preamp and Tube power amp and you risk getting the worst of both worlds. I also agree with the Sonic Frontiers or Anthem preamp. They sound very solid state like in the best sense for tube equipment.

Hi Todd, Sonic Frontiers Line Series of pre-amps do not sound "tubey" at all, ie no euphonic colorations, in fact they are quite neutral, smooth, detailed, and with good soundstaging. I use the Line 2 with a McCormack DNA-2DX amplifier, and actually the amp sounds more tubey than the pre-amp. However, you can change the sound/music character just by changing the pre-amp tubes, ie if you want the tubey sound you can get it. But I prefer the stock-- and very neutral-- Sovtek 6922s. I also use the SF Line 1 with McCormack DNA.5 with good results. To answer your question more directly, I prefer the tubes at the pre-amp stage, because I want the bass control of a good solid state amp-- works for me. A good tube pre-amp can project a huge soundstage depending on tubes used. I use Vandersteen 2Ce and 3A sig. speakers. Happy Hunting. Craig

You might need to give a little more information as to your purchase. I would prefer using a tube preamp and s.s. amp, but you might also want to try the newer tube ARC equipment; LS 8mkII,16,25 and VT100mkII. You will be surprised at what you hear if setup correctly; I wouldn't think that those combinations would be too mellow. I think the answer to your last question is "it depends on the equipment you are deciding on." I have found that by using a better preamp with the same amp made a significant difference, in terms of transparency, depth, detail, etc. Let your ears decide. Hope that helps. Good luck.