PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium preamp owners!


Please help me. Looking for new tubes. I read that it is difficult to beat the stock tubes, but I am willing to try. I am currently running a Pass XA-30.8 amplifier, Harbeth Super HL5+ speakers and an Esoteric K-07 as a source. I listen to rock, jazz, classical. Love female vocalists accompanied by the piano as well. I want to avoid anything that will accentuate high frequencies or anything that may cause harshness in the upper registers. All that being said, I was considering Amperex Medical 12AU7, Brimar CV4003, Cifte 12AU7 or Mullard cv4003. Or something else? Thank you in advance.
tswisla

I have tried some of those in my Dialogue Premium integrated .

The Cifte's were rather boring and uneventful . A friend of mine tried them in his Ayon and didn't find them pleasing either .

The Amprex were an improvement in all directions . Nice bass , air , bounce and musicality . My second favorite input tube .

For less money , the RCA Cleartops come close to the Amperex's and actually do better with voices .

The CBS will favor female singers with slow jazz . Very accurate but not as musical as the Amperex and RCA .

My favorite is another Dutch tube , the 7316 . A step above the Amperex with the inclusion of the RCA voice aspect . Just an all around winner , for me ! The earlier production the better and probably the most expensive .

My integrated has 6 input tubes as does your preamp . I found that changing just the front two tubes , on each side , was enough for the desired change . I leave the rear 12AU7 on each side stock , the Primaluna . I did not note a discernible improvement by changing these rear tubes .

Now , a word of caution with these tubes that I like . I have very neutral speakers , Reference 3a Di Capo i's . So I prefer a warmer tone that what you may desire with your Harbeth's which tend to be a bit warmer .

Maybe try the RCA's , which are cheaper than the Amperex and 7316 to see how they work in your situation , they are still a nice tube .

Good Luck  

RCA 12AU7 Blackplates have a classic tube sound. Warm, open, good soundstaging with smooth highs.
The RCA 5963 Blackplate is a premium tube that has better dynamics with more air up top.
Very interesting thread as I am looking for a set of warmish tubes Saki for my Dialogue Premium integrated. I found the stock EL34 power tubes to be very nice however I wanted a little more drive so I put in some KT120's. I like them very much however I found a little more glare at the upper midrange so I want to tame that down somewhat. I spoke with Kevin Deal but very briefly and described the differences between the EL34 and KT120.  I am hearing more into the music with the KT120's no doubt and the soundstage has seemed to open up. Lowrider what have you used the RCA BP in?
I used RCA 12AX7 BPs in a Jolida and 12AU7's in a Rogue pre. The Rogue is very neutral, not like a PrimaLuna. BPs take away any harshness.
True the Rogue is very neutral as I had a Tempest 2. Also have experience with Jolida products (preamp, amp and CD player). Matter of fact I ran some GE triple mica black plate 5751's in the CD player and preamp.