PrimaLuna Preamp Upgrade Question

Add me to the list of "tubes before separates". I own the EVO300 and swapped all tubes: power is GL KT88s and preamp tubes are a combo of NOS Radiotechnique and NOS Telefunken. The upgrades to the tubes made a sizable difference, enough to satisfy my ears and not think about any other changes. 

There is a good thread here about integrated vs. separates and although many agree separates have benefits (less cross talk, interference, etc.), PL does build their integrated quite well, and my philosophy has been to look for improvements elsewhere. To my surprise, one of the biggest benefits to date has been a good linear PS for my DAC!

Happy trails!

@moofoo those Audio Mirror amps are beautiful!

I have a PrimaLuna Dialogue Integrated paired with the Aria 936s’s. I too found myself in the same mindset of upgrading within a year of the new system but never really considered separates. I chose to upgraded the system by adding two subs, high-end replacing all cables, power cords, and the power conditioner. All replacements purchased in the used market (except the subs). Most impressive and surprising was the SR Powercell 12 UEF power conditioner. It was my second addition to the system after SR power cord for the integrated amp and I was taken aback with the improvement! In fact, I was underwhelmed at first, though, after bout 15 -20 hours of listening, I was dumbfounded. It was remarkable! Without getting into a bunch of adjectives, I basically now have a different system as far as soundstage and clarity compared my original system less the upgrades.

Now if I ever replace my Primaluna, I doubt I’ll consider replacing cables, power cords, and conditioner.
There is a school of thought that, assuming you will included high-end cabling and power cords, separates require purchases additional sets of cables and power cords. Everyone’s budget is different but certainly, something to at least consider.

I too must echo that speaker placement is paramount.

Cheers and good luck with your journey!
mb
Edit:  I forgot to mention that I rolled some tubes as well. 

j-wall,

Check this out. There isn't no "one size fits all"  for speaker placement but this guide gets my speaks in the zone for them to sound good. As always, YMMV
http://www.cardas.com/room_setup_calculators.php

"Pulled the trigger on 6 12au7's,"
The 2 innermost tube are responsible for sonic changes as mentioned on the PL site. They are the gain tubes. Like many PL owners, I've played with all of them. I didn't experience anything with the others.

Re speaker set up, it’s really not possible to suggest a set up starting point as you have not really described your room, however tablejockey’s recommendation for the Cardas calculator is a good one as a starting point. Overall your end result will probably be optimum with your speakers further out into the room (mine are 5 1/2 feet) your listening chair well out from the back wall (mine are 4 feet) set up in a equilateral triangle or something close thereto (mine are 9 feet apart and my chair is 10 back from the plane of the speakers). The speaker are toed in substantially to reduce side wall reflections (but it seems you have plenty of space on the sides already). Another consideration is whether to put you speakers on a long wall or a short wall. I’ve always found the short wall better, but if you can, try both.

There, that you keep you busy. Getting your room right takes quite a bit of time. Although room treatments can be helpful, I would recommend that you get the fundamentals right before you start on ’treatment’. FWIW.