[George Prentice]

Originally Posted by prepress

The only reason I have a tube preamp now (Mac C2300) is the heavy influence of AA; the high praise here led me to try one. I've since come to the conclusion that a tube preamp with a solid state amp is a great combo, and I would never go the other way, as I'm still leery due to horror stories I've heard regarding tube failure, especially with a power amp.

I was of the same conviction that tube preamp, but not amp, was the way to go for the last 30 years or so. I stayed away from tubes in amps because of biasing... I don’t want a $10 or $20K piece of gear that must be adjusted all the time, with tubes that don’t last long... or can blow up. Then a couple years ago I went to event introducing the new ARC 160m. Gordon (I think) explained they had finally put the tubes under microprocessor control... so no more biasing, also this would allow tubes to run much longer and cooler. That moment I realized the reason for my choice of solid state amps was gone. I only needed to wait for the stereo version to come out. I did... and it is just plain stunning when combined with all other high definition tubed components I would not even consider going back. The ARC Tubed DAC is also stunning... putting these things together is just plain magic (not magic in “wow, that is tubey”, but as in “wow, that is detailed, natural and beautiful”). No mater how detailed and natural every piece of solid state gear is... I have never heard this degree of musicality come out of a system. I cannot restrain my foot from moving while listening. I could no longer care less if I can hear the cellist move his foot (although if I listened I am sure it is there) or the train go through the tube below the auditorium... the draw to the emotional content of the music simply overwhelms my analytical side with my system. After 50 years of avoiding tube amps you couldn’t trade mine for a $200,000 solid state amp.... although I think I will trade up to the 160 mono blocks next year. End of story, I am never going back.