Primaluna or not Primaluna

@ coltrane1

I actually have a quad EL34 Winged C.

And it is the PL EVO 300 I am considering. 

Congrats on the Quicksilver mid-monos simna they out to be great w/your Tannoys.  Yes, there are a good many Tannoy fans here.  I've been thru a lot of tube amps and am smitten with new class D monos from Atma-Sphere paired with Stirlings.  

@simna

Well, it’s a cheap enough experiment to try the different Zu’s. Whether you start w the Omens as bookshelves just to see, the sound signature will be the same thru out the line.

You can tell if they would be for you soon enough.

At any rate, it’s still cheaper than what you are considering and who knows, you may hit audio pay dirt with little expenditure.

I always liked the Quick Silvers myself. I even used to carry them at our audio salons

@simna , You’re all set then! Another benefit of the PL’s is they’re auto bias, which is a big plus. Best affordable tube amps without a doubt!

I currently own a Line Magnetic 518 (845 tubes) and a Primaluna Evo300 amp. Front end is Holo May/Serene KTE. I’ve also owned a Primaluna Dialogue 1 integrated and a Line Magnetic 508 (805 tubes), along with other tube amps. my speakers are Cube Nenuphar Mini’s, which is a single driver crossoverless 92db speaker. Very easy for most any amp to drive. 
 

I am a fan of Primaluna and really like my Evo300 amp. After using a GanFET amp during the summer I actually just put it back in my system this past week. I thought I preferred the Line Magnetic as I was using it up until I put the GanFET in a few months ago. I had every intention to swap it in to compare it to the Primaluna. But I couldn’t take the Primaluna out, it was sounding so good. 
 

I also have a plethora of tubes: Sophia Electric EL34, gold Lion kt77 and kt88, shuguang we+ 6ca7 (el34), tungsol 5781 and mullard el34 and some others. I spent some time mostly listening to these tubes and think the kt88 and el34 and variants sound best. I’ve used kt120 and kt150 in the past but never loved them. Maybe if you have more difficult to drive speakers the extra umph is nice but I have plenty of headroom with the kt88 and EL34. I’m also running 6 Radiotechnique NOS 12au7’s. Amazing. 
 

In a few weeks I will put the 518 back in as I only remember that sounding amazing too. One thing to keep in mind is these amps get hot, especially the Line Magnetics being Class A and the huge tubes. The Primaluna runs cool enough I could use it all year but if you’re in a hot climate or small space it does get hot. 
 

I also prefer the Primaluna 300 to the 400. Tube rolling is also much less expensive. The amp also runs cooler and I think sounds more tube-like. I think the 400 would be better if you have speakers below 88db and/or a huge space to fill. I’ve never run out of headroom with the 300 or even the dialogue 1 which had about the same power, and that’s with speakers rated as low as 86db sensitive. 
 

I also owned the LM508 which is a beast. Very heavy and hot running but the sound was amazing. However I also had an issue with a capacitor. It was covered by warranty but took about 5 months and shipping that amp is not a simple task for one person. The Primaluna is manageable. 
 

I’m a fan of both brands, which is why I haven’t sold either amp. So don’t think you can go wrong. But the Primaluna is more flexible and maybe a touch easier to own. Just my thoughts.