Primaluna?


I’m thinking about giving a full tube setup a go and Primaluna in particular.  Looking to hear people’s experiences with Primaluna in general. My main draw to them outside of tubes is there auto bias and protective features.  Wondering if people generally replace a single bad tube or if people are replacing all tubes of that type when there’s a failure.  Also would be interested if there were any other companies with at least a similar protective feature. The auto bias sounds great but the protective features are a bigger deal to me.  

brylandgoodman

Just go Rogue and you will realize the promise of true high end sound value from a US company. No BS. Or go straight for Audio Research if budget allows. VAC is also cream of the crop it seems but won’t come cheap. Oh and do not forget good old Atmasphere. Or Conrad Johnson.  The video did  increase my appreciation for Prima Luna  

The thing I see that does in most tube amps regardless of build quality with users is mismatching with other gear especially between amp and speakers and amp and preamp. If you get either matching wrong your results will be limited. Run the other way whenever someone tells you otherwise.

Otherwise I pretty much view tube amps like flavors of ice cream . The sound can come in all flavors and for a range of cost. Personal preferences will decide who likes what .

Reliability and customer support always matter as well and probably are more important things to consider than which specific “good sound” to choose. I agree it’s hard to find a bad sounding tube amp after all. Cheap or poorly made….for sure. Plenty of those. Cost alone is not the determining factor of course.

But if you want true good sound, performance comes first. Lots of details that go into that. When in doubt, stick with the well known products and vendors that have a long and wide reputation, not just a particular cult following on the internet.

 

If only Uncle Kevin would take the back off a Tekton.

Now that would be a video I’d watch.

PL is very nice. Good build quality, I've been in the innards doing my own mods to bring older model up to newest specs. Point to point wiring (exception of auto bias board), nice lay out, nice solder work, nice parts quality, really don't know how much more you can ask for. Add good service from Upscale techs, good sound quality, what's not to like.

 

The concurrent thread comparing Raven to PL, Raven not in same league, really need to compare to much higher quality competition. I didn't feel deprived when listening to my Dialogue Four (with my upgrades) vs. three of my SET amps in $6-13K price range.