Feedback from PrimaLuna EVO 300 owners.

"Does it pair well with SS amps, and if so, which ones?"

If you're not set on using a SS amp, a matching PL tube amp is always available in the listings- seemingly at negotiatiable price too.

Longtime PL user.

I have an Advance Paris X-A160 EVO Stereo Power Amplifier and am looking at the PrimaLuna EVO 300 for the front end. One of the best sounding systems I've owned was an Audio Research SP-6 fronting a McIntosh MA300 power amp. Still have the SP-6, but AR won't fix it, say they no longer have the boards for it. So, I'm looking to upgrade the system with the PrimaLuna.

I’m on my third PL preamp, having worked my way up to the EVO 300. I’m never letting go of this pre - solid build quality (very reliable), quiet (relay-switched exclusionary inputs), but its best attribute is its power supply: true dual mono, tube-rectified. Considering the weight (53 pounds! For a preamp…), it feels - and sounds - more like a massive power supply with a preamp added on. But its 250 ohm (*not* 256k ohm) output impedance suggests it’s more than just a power supply.

The ability to tune-roll is a Primaluna hallmark. I run massive Upscale-sourced military Philips JAN 5AR4GYS rectifiers (so much bandwidth, so much headroom) and GE JAN 6189s in the all-important small signal position (so quiet).

Previously I ran a Mk V MC275 with it very happily. But I’ve since added a Luxman 509XA mkII -with great success. The solid state Class A watts of the Luxman have transformed the sound. The soundstage is not just deep - it’s wide. The bass- oh, swoon-worthy.

YMMV, but I’ve had tremendous success -pairing the PL EVO 300 with a SS amp. I would suggest that a warmer-than-neutral Class A amp would be a a successful pairing, but you should go with the sound that works best for you.

As a side note, all my interactions with Upscale and the Primaluna factory (ordered different-colored faceplates) have been met with exceptional customer service. Would not hesitate to recommend to others.

PrimaLuna 300 pre with Pass XA25 power (25W pure class A). Very happy with it, but don’t have a lot to compare it to. The most I can say, acoustic instruments I know well (viola d’amore) sound spot on: recordings by performers I know and have heard live or with whom I had the pleasure to play. But also listen to assorted ...-wave, and electronica, EBM.

I may like slightly smaller volume steps at low levels on the PL. I have not gone into tube rolling, so that is another avenue to explore. I use the Pass with 8 ohm/87 db speakers in an 18' room, listening at low levels (say 65-75 db on average). I added a REL T9 for slight bass extension for the Sibelius SG speakers.

Hope that helps.