Solid State Preamps Vs. Tube Preamps

[prepress]

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

Is there a genre of music that favors solid state, and same for tubes?

Alberto's reply is a pretty good one. I would add that my system is multi-purpose, and as a result movie soundtracks and effects are also involved. I have played The Avengers on blu-ray several times, the climactic battle in particular, and can report that I haven't had any problem getting into what was happening because the sound shrank away. It thumped when it was supposed to. And that's before the 2dB increase in the bass mentioned earlier; I haven't tried the BD with that yet. I was listening to some old-school R&B on the tuner yesterday, and it was pleasingly full-sounding (when the recording allowed). The best thing of all was, I wasn't focused on what was missing from the sound, which is a strong testimony to the quality of what I was hearing. The tubes still need a few more hours of break-in, so we'll see where things are then, but so far I like what I hear. Also remember the choice of tube could affect what you hear, as well.

Whatever preamp you get, be sure it has a good, solid power supply.

[Grasshopper]

Thank you Prepress. As my system is integrated, your reply caught my eye. Do you have a 5.1 system (or more than 2 channels)?

If so, do you use the C2300 in a home theater bypass mode (or unity gain)? I was curious as i understood in bypass mode, the C2300 (or any other preamp) simply bypass the signal and avoided any preamp coloration/EQ/Tone controls etc. I had always assumed in bypass mode, the sound would be tube-free and sound exactly as the AVR or multichannel processor intended.

Just curious as to how it's setup in your system.

i'm encouraged at your experience that the tube pre and MC501's gives you the bass slam when it counts

Originally Posted by prepress

Alberto's reply is a pretty good one. I would add that my system is multi-purpose, and as a result movie soundtracks and effects are also involved. I have played The Avengers on blu-ray several times, the climactic battle in particular, and can report that I haven't had any problem getting into what was happening because the sound shrank away. It thumped when it was supposed to. And that's before the 2dB increase in the bass mentioned earlier; I haven't tried the BD with that yet. I was listening to some old-school R&B on the tuner yesterday, and it was pleasingly full-sounding (when the recording allowed). The best thing of all was, I wasn't focused on what was missing from the sound, which is a strong testimony to the quality of what I was hearing. The tubes still need a few more hours of break-in, so we'll see where things are then, but so far I like what I hear. Also remember the choice of tube could affect what you hear, as well.

Whatever preamp you get, be sure it has a good, solid power supply.

[prepress]

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

Thank you Prepress. As my system is integrated, your reply caught my eye. Do you have a 5.1 system (or more than 2 channels)?

If so, do you use the C2300 in a home theater bypass mode (or unity gain)? I was curious as i understood in bypass mode, the C2300 (or any other preamp) simply bypass the signal and avoided any preamp coloration/EQ/Tone controls etc. I had always assumed in bypass mode, the sound would be tube-free and sound exactly as the AVR or multichannel processor intended.

Just curious as to how it's setup in your system.

i'm encouraged at your experience that the tube pre and MC501's gives you the bass slam when it counts

I have a 2-channel system, and run things conventionally. The audio from my BD player goes directly to the 2300, the video to the display via my video processor.

After the tubes have more time on them I should be able to determine if the bass can be turned back down. The standard seems to be that after 20-30 hours signal tubes are pretty much broken in and what you get at that point is pretty much what you'll get going forward. I have to remember that myself. Given that formula, the 2300 tubes (line stage) should be broken in fully after another 10 hours. They have 15 on them now.

[Grasshopper]

That makes sense.

Originally Posted by prepress

I have a 2-channel system, and run things conventionally. The audio from my BD player goes directly to the 2300, the video to the display via my video processor.

After the tubes have more time on them I should be able to determine if the bass can be turned back down. The standard seems to be that after 20-30 hours signal tubes are pretty much broken in and what you get at that point is pretty much what you'll get going forward. I have to remember that myself. Given that formula, the 2300 tubes (line stage) should be broken in fully after another 10 hours. They have 15 on them now.

[MC352]

If you like female singers, tubes are the only way to go IMO. There is something about a good female jazz singer on tubes that just seems like magic.

[Grasshopper]

That makes sense! Thanks for your comment.

I assume you are running a tube pre and solid state amp. What preamp are you using?

Originally Posted by MC352

If you like female singers, tubes are the only way to go IMO. There is something about a good female jazz singer on tubes that just seems like magic.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

That makes sense! Thanks for your comment.

I assume you are running a tube pre and solid state amp. What preamp are you using?

If my memory serves me well, Chuck has the best of both worlds.
He uses a C2200 preamp and either a MC275 or a MC352 power amp.
Chuck correct me if I am wrong.

Sent from my iPad using A.Aficionado

[MtnHam]

Rap is music?

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by MtnHam

Rap is music?

Good one.

Sent from my iPad using A.Aficionado

[MC352]

Originally Posted by Jerome W

If my memory serves me well, Chuck has the best of both worlds.
He uses a C2200 preamp and either a MC275 or a MC352 power amp.
Chuck correct me if I am wrong.

Sent from my iPad using A.Aficionado

When listening to some music like female vocals, I switch to the MC275 with the C2200.