Primaluna or not Primaluna

I have never owned Tannoy but did own Zu Audio with which I purchased, lived with and later sold Primaluna, Quicksilver, Kinki, Nuprime, Unison Research amplifiers. Though Tannoy and Zu are quite different there are common traits and with the Zu my favourite amplifiers were the Unison and Quicksilver. My least favourite was the Nuprime with the Primaluna following. Of course a subjective opinion driven by tube colourations and I suspect lower damping factor. It was an enjoyable listening experience that likely wouldn’t pass the Audiophile sniff test but did allow me to play everything from Sabbath to Ben Harper. Dollar for Dollar the Quicksilver amps ( Horn Monos) were the greatest bargain in my journey to that point. 

I think that its hard to judge different amps without knowing what the rest of the equipment is and even the room.  So many things go into "sound."  That being said, when I had Focal Diablo Utopia III's, I got a PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium HP, which is about 75 watts.  It was fantastic with those speakers.  I am a low hassle kind of guy, and the PL had all sorts of bells and whistles to make having a tube amp simple, such as auto bias, and a bad tube indicator. It is a solidly made amp with point to point wiring, and accepts many types of tubes.  A really great amp for the price that hits way above its price point.  When I got a pair of Wilson Audio Sabrina X's, the PL drove them pretty well but they really needed more power, so I picked up a Pass Labs 250.8.  Definitely an improvement at 3x the price.  When I sent the Pass Labs back to the factory to fix the meter, I put the PL back in  and it sounded very nice but the same reaction . . . needed the power of the Pass for my speakers to sound their best.  That being said, I highly recommend the PL for its price/performance/quality.

Before I bought the Primaluna EVO 100 integrated I compared it at the showroom on $4,500 / pair Paradigm speakers with a Hegel H390. I picked the EVO 100 integrated Hands down. Then I took it home and compared it against a Shitt audio Freya, Vidar combo. My 45 year old crown pre / power amp combo also for fun was compared. The EVO 100 not only sounded better on my speakers, but had larger dynamic swings, clearer mids highs and the push was better and faster. Lows were comparable.  All compared systems sounded great, but in my side by sides you could clearly hear more string vibration from violins , no matter the instrument. Sax reeds were tighter, bass was more clear and precise.  The cheaper primaluna, in my comparisons surpassed systems costing twice the price.

I am sure there are better tube amps out there, but for the price point Primaluna both in quality of build and sound it is difficult to match or beat. I recently upgraded the sound with JJ KT77s it was remarkable!

All of these swaps and comparisons. This hobby is endless. But I’m done purchasing tube amps. And that’s a blessing. One is enough. 

I have heard PL amps several times and never warmed up to their sound.  They have good bass but the midrange has always sounded flat and shouty.

tube rectifiers are good but have their disadvantages too.  

i really enjoyed the sound of my rogue audio cronus magnum ii, can become very tube warm with the right small signal NOS tubes.  the KT120 are powerful and dynamic.  

the CM amps are great values and have huge sound stage and a clear, refined sound as good as anything.