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I've tried a valve pre into solid state power (EAR 834 into ATC Active 10s) and it sounded fine, a solid state pre into solid state power (ATC CA2 into ATC Active 10s) and it sounded fine, and, currently, a solid state pre into valve power (ATC CA2 into Leak Stereo 20) and it sounds fine (although I have too much gain, a passive pre would be a better bet), and am also currently trying a class T integrated, which sounds fine too, and runs cool, a big plus with summer on the way.

Hard to generalise, in other words. There are differences between the various presentations, but I'm not sure one of them is definitively better than the others. I certainly don't hear a lot of distortion with the valve setup in comparison with anything else. The valve amp is a touch fruitier than the class T amp, this can either be very pleasant or too much of a good thing, depending on mood. I could live with any of them, but I like having choices, so both passive pre/valve power and class T integrated is what I'll end up with.

The main thing is to get something that can drive the chosen speakers properly at the desired SPLs. The rest is all a matter of taste.

-- Ian

<blockquote data-quote="sideshowbob" data-source="post: 545297" data-attributes="member: 1059">I've tried a valve pre into solid state power (EAR 834 into ATC Active 10s) and it sounded fine, a solid state pre into solid state power (ATC CA2 into ATC Active 10s) and it sounded fine, and, currently, a solid state pre into valve power (ATC CA2 into Leak Stereo 20) and it sounds fine (although I have too much gain, a passive pre would be a better bet), and am also currently trying a class T integrated, which sounds fine too, and runs cool, a big plus with summer on the way.Hard to generalise, in other words. There are differences between the various presentations, but I'm not sure one of them is definitively better than the others. I certainly don't hear a lot of distortion with the valve setup in comparison with anything else. The valve amp is a touch fruitier than the class T amp, this can either be very pleasant or too much of a good thing, depending on mood. I could live with any of them, but I like having choices, so both passive pre/valve power and class T integrated is what I'll end up with.The main thing is to get something that can drive the chosen speakers properly at the desired SPLs. The rest is all a matter of taste.-- Ian</blockquote>

[QUOTE="sideshowbob, post: 545297, member: 1059"] I've tried a valve pre into solid state power (EAR 834 into ATC Active 10s) and it sounded fine, a solid state pre into solid state power (ATC CA2 into ATC Active 10s) and it sounded fine, and, currently, a solid state pre into valve power (ATC CA2 into Leak Stereo 20) and it sounds fine (although I have too much gain, a passive pre would be a better bet), and am also currently trying a class T integrated, which sounds fine too, and runs cool, a big plus with summer on the way. Hard to generalise, in other words. There are differences between the various presentations, but I'm not sure one of them is definitively better than the others. I certainly don't hear a lot of distortion with the valve setup in comparison with anything else. The valve amp is a touch fruitier than the class T amp, this can either be very pleasant or too much of a good thing, depending on mood. I could live with any of them, but I like having choices, so both passive pre/valve power and class T integrated is what I'll end up with. The main thing is to get something that can drive the chosen speakers properly at the desired SPLs. The rest is all a matter of taste. -- Ian [/QUOTE]

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