jcmusic Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 A little help, can i expect some noticeable improvment in sound by adding a tube pre-amp to my SS amp? I have k-horns in front of a Marantz 300dc amp @ 152 wpc. Please explain pro' and con's. Thanks Jay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 In my experience, driving a SS power amp with a tube preamp can offer an improvement. This configuration would yield more tube sound than a SS pre and tube power amp. There are some technical things about matching the output of the preamp to the sensitivity of inputs on the power amp and these things are beyond my level of technical understanding. There are plenty of folks on this forum who could advise you of those specifics. There are some synergistic issues, which also sometimes surprise the technical types.... such as the possibility that a particular combination will sound fabulous is surprising and some other combos will sound poor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 Khorns were designed in the era of tube equiptment and they sound best with tubes. I use a tube preamp that passes through my Home Theater preamp and into 2 channels of my amp. This allows me to switch back and forth with ease, have the digital processing necessary for HT surround sound and the mellow tube sound from my khorns for music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted February 12, 2006 Author Share Posted February 12, 2006 Sounddog, is your amp tube or SS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 My amp is an Outlaw 7100 - 7 channel 100 watt per channel SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted February 12, 2006 Author Share Posted February 12, 2006 Would you say that the tube pre-amp improved the sound of your SS amp to a noticable point? Also what about your k-horns, modified or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 The Outlaw SS preamp is an excellent Home Theater preamp but the highs on music seemed a little too bright.m The use of a Dynaco stereo tube preamp mellowed the sound of CDs and also allows me to play records. I also have external DACs and upsampling devices that help make the CDs sound like LPs. I use ALK crossovers in my Khorns and 511B horns; otherwise they are original equiptment. Sealing the Khorns to the wall, the mods, AND room accoustical treatment have all improved the sound. Each has made a noticable improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Soundog - I'm intrigued & confused by the fact that your able to put a tube preamp in a avr receiver. Are you saying the tube pre bypasses the pre in your receiver? Or overrides it? What is the port called that you plug the pre-amp into? I don't think I can do this with my HK AVR, but perhaps I could find one that does? I'm confused cuz I thought you couldn't hook a pre-amp to a receiver that has an integrated pre. (or it wouldn't 'do' anything). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I have Outlaw Audio seperates - a 950 preamp and a 7100 amp. The 950 has a bypass option that allows me to pass through the signal from my Dynaco preamp to the 7100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Soundog - thanks. I 'think' I understand it better. In this setup, can you control volume with the outlaw remote (assuming it has one)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 No, you can switch to something else with the outlaw remote but not change the volume as the signal is being passed through as is from the Dynaco tube preamp (which does not have remote posibilities). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Soundog - Thanks.... When you switch between your HT to 2-channel setups, what do you physically have to do? Do you switch wires or just hit the remote to switch over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I misspoke previously - I can not change the volume of the Dynaco preamp with the Outlaw remote but I can change the volume of the Outlaw - the pass through is for digital processing but the analog signal goes through the Outlaw's volume control. You press buttons on the remote to switch between various sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpm Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I like matching brands. For instance, I have a Rega amp, preamp & cdp. My feeling is that they're made for each other and I therefore don't have to worry about compatibility issues. But what do I know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 SD - I didn't know one could do that. Thanks. So the difference between running your Tube pre vs. the SS pre - is more mellow? Do you lose anything? JPM - I agree. And it looks good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Only negitive is tubes deteriorate and have to be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Only negitive is that tubes deteriorate and have to be replacec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 About how long DO tubes last before decreasing in strength to the point one hear's it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 Several thousand hours that is reduced by frequent "ons and offs", causing some people to leave tube equiptment on for extended periods. Deterioration is often very gradual, causing some to change tubes more frequently then necessary. Then there's the whole issue of "matched" tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 I guess I am bass ackwards cause I prefer using my Solid State Luxman preamp(really a int amp) with my Cayin TA 30 tube amp with great results. I have a Ground Grid tube preamp and tried a Merlin tube preamp and have not been impressed with tube preamps. I think I had read so many reviews about how fantastic sounding tube preamps sound they could not live up to the expectations I had. Also the 3 amps I had may not have had any synergy with the tube preamps. I just bought a pair of Welborne Moondogs 2A3 SET tube monoblocks that I am going to try with the Ground Grid tube preamp and see how it sounds. Once I try this combo I post a review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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