Mixed Brand Pre-Amp Power Amp Pairings that Work

 CODA 07x preamp + KRELL Duo 175XD what I use now.

The Benchmark LA4 + KRELL Duo 175XD is superb though I no longer use it due to being short 1 connection. 

I sold my CODA #8 but ANY preamp + amp combos of the following 4 items is great,

Benchmark LA4 preamp, Benchmark AHB2 amp, CODA 07x preamp, and CODA #8 amp

An original version Schiit Freya 9 with NOS GE tubes into a Pass Labs XA-25. Yeah man. Yeah. That's right...

I remember that Jay's Audio Lab mentioned this a while ago. His take was that everyone should start with the same brand since that will work. Then you can try to switch one part and listen if the sound improves. This means borrowing amps or buying but being prepared to sell directly if it does not improve things.may have been for high end amps but it is an interesting idea.

Impedance matching and voltage output can be tricky. My

Supratek Cabernet pre has very high output and makes finding power amps

a bit difficult especially if one is looking for class A power amps.

I prefer the sound of an Ayre K-5xeMP preamp with JC 1 monoblocks to that of a JC 2 preamp.  I've yet to try a V-5xe amp with that preamp, but may be doing so soon.  I do use the newer KX-5 Twenty & VX-5 Twenty pairing in another setup.

db