I've almost always have had a mix. Mostly its been a tube pre and a SS amp because powerful tube amps tend to been more costly then there SS counterparts. It gives a nice touch of tube magic with the ability to drive a load well.
My current setup is just the opposite; tube amps, Rogue M180s, (a unbelievably great piece of gear, not particularly flashy but sonically stunning) and a JC2 pre (also unbelievably good!) and the combination is really amazing. It's giving me more tube goodness then any tube pre/SS amp combination that I have had. It also doesn't hurt that my cdp has a tube output stage,something I have never liked until I heard the Ayon.
Having tubes in your system allows for tube rolling which I love to do. It gives you the ability to change/improve your system at what is usually a small cost, not always, compared to a new piece of gear.
What you have to be aware of is the actual (can differ from published spec) output impedance of the preamp especially when it's tube and input impedance of the amp that you are planning to pair together. Tube preamps can have a high output impedance at the frequency extremes or across the board which can cause either the low bass or highend to be rolled off if paired with a amp that have a low input impedance. Usually a manufacture will give a spec at 1k but not tell you that at 20Hz the output impedance is 10x what it is at 1k. The typical rule of thumb is you want the input impedance of the amp to be at least 10x that of the output impedance of the pre but personally I look for a preamp that is less then 250 and an amp that is greater then 30,000.
Chris
Tel Wire
My current setup is just the opposite; tube amps, Rogue M180s, (a unbelievably great piece of gear, not particularly flashy but sonically stunning) and a JC2 pre (also unbelievably good!) and the combination is really amazing. It's giving me more tube goodness then any tube pre/SS amp combination that I have had. It also doesn't hurt that my cdp has a tube output stage,something I have never liked until I heard the Ayon.
Having tubes in your system allows for tube rolling which I love to do. It gives you the ability to change/improve your system at what is usually a small cost, not always, compared to a new piece of gear.
What you have to be aware of is the actual (can differ from published spec) output impedance of the preamp especially when it's tube and input impedance of the amp that you are planning to pair together. Tube preamps can have a high output impedance at the frequency extremes or across the board which can cause either the low bass or highend to be rolled off if paired with a amp that have a low input impedance. Usually a manufacture will give a spec at 1k but not tell you that at 20Hz the output impedance is 10x what it is at 1k. The typical rule of thumb is you want the input impedance of the amp to be at least 10x that of the output impedance of the pre but personally I look for a preamp that is less then 250 and an amp that is greater then 30,000.
Chris
Tel Wire