New Member And few questions on First Tube Amp.


Little about me.I am 67 and more into cars /cycles but enjoy music during winter months.
I have Tinnitus very bad and so I can not play music much over 70 db with high pitch horns ect.
But I have Marantz SR 8002 and had until last week Mirage M-5's. 28 yrs and did not realize how deteriorated
they become until someone sold a pair of Definitive Techogoly BP 8080ST and I could not beleive what I was missing
on sound.. All along thought it was my hearing..So now that I can hear music separation along with my ringing 
it is a joy to hear more than I thought I would ever hear again.
So with that I want to just see if a tube amp will allow me to hear music flow from the speakers as others describe.

So not knowing anything I have a dealer not to far selling Prima Luna tubes and my question is I see tube amp and pre tube amp.. To try a tube amp can you run from just one of these components ??
Does Prima Luna have a all in one unit if I need a amp and pre amp ???

I do not mind spending few thousand, but not sure how long my hearing will last  and so just want to 
purchase low end just to see if I can hear a difference of tube vs solid state...thank you Joe

128x128harleyujoe
Joe, yeah tinnitus sucks. What source are you using? I think remote is a good idea with hearing damage to limit loud passages before hurting but without curtailing the quieter parts.
Most of my sources don't have a remote so that's not a big issue for me.  The Cayins are excellent.

Just saw this one in the DC area:
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/ele/d/silver-spring-cayin-88t-integrated-tube/6805903082.htm... and actually heard this one with EL34's or 6L6 tubes in it and it sounded great!  It also has a remote.

Didnt see any info on the 734b, only the 734a and its got huge iron on it, which is the heart of any tube amp, and most important part of a tube amp.  I'd take a Cayin any day over Prima Luna.

The 40 wpc will sound like double that
harleyujoe-

As mentioned in my first post, polarizing opinion undoubtedly shows up. 

What's going to sound good to your ears is subjective, and absolute specs/graphs etc. won't guarantee satisfacton. 


Harleyujoe,

I am also a tinnitus sufferer ( heavy equipment operator, aircraft assembler, etc.) I'm 72, and I'm still enjoying music a great deal. My listening room is on the large side 34' X 16.5' w/cathedral ceilings). I use my SET 300B, which I won on auction here on A'gon for around $750. I then had caps and resistors upgraded at the factory (Sonic Frontiers/Parts Connexion). I use it to drive my 94db custom built Tannoy HPD 315 drivers (12" Dual Concentric) in massive 150 liter bass-reflex enclosures. 

They sound amazing in my room, and I'm still able to discern the difference in SQ between different sources & amps, digital/vinyl etc. Although many offer opinions that the SET 300B shouldn't be up to the task, but for me, it does the job.

I hope you find what works for you. I wish you many years of continued musical enjoyment, regards,
Dan