2. amps-preamps
  3. 195565-200780

Can I get my Prima Luna to sound more like a SET/300B?

 

Dear Audiogon community, 

 

I am ruminating on my current state of mind with this alchemy… 

 

I have spent the past year upgrading my main system to a relatively glorious state… details below and in my profile. 

 

I am at times in the sublime musical hallucination I seek. However I admittedly may be coming to the realization that the sound I yearn for in my heart may be ultimately obtained through a SET or 300B type of solution. And to get there I may need a 5-9K indulgence, in order to match the Nagra Streamer, Holo Audio DAC, and Pure Audio Project Duet Horn’s. 

 

This is something that may take a while for me to enact… 

 

SOOOO…. In the meantime…. What if anything can I do with the amp that I currently have, a Prima Luna Dialogue Premium HP, to obtain a completely enveloping, immediate, effortless, sublime, vivid, and delicious delivery of acoustic, jazz, classical, vocals, horns, strings, cymbals…. Sublime enveloping sensual euphoria…?? 

 

Can I get my Prima Luna to sound like a proper SET or 300B amp? Even close? 

 

Some thoughts: 

-Cap upgrade… Jupiter or Jensen or Duelund or…. 

 

-Main tubes to…. Ray? Mullard E34’s? Psvane PH or UK? Sophia Electric? 

 

(Currently I run Gold Lion KT77’s, which are very nice when they work, but their unreliability is frustrating… in 9 months two go out and one has a high frequency distortion)

 

Or should I bite the bullet and jump in to a serious amp upgrade? 

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your brilliant insight… 

 

Cheers to musical alchemy. 

R. 

 

 

 

 

 

Details of my system: (brief)

    • SPEAKERS: Pure Audio Project Duet 15 Horn (Mundorf Silver Gold Oil Cap upgrade and high pass filter, Anticable 4.2 Flex Internal wire)
    • STREAMER: Nagra Streamer (Cardas Clear Coaxial)
    • DAC: HoloAudio Spring 2 Level 3 Kitsune edition (Silversmith Fidelium RCA Interconnects)
    • AMP: PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium HP Integrated (Gold Lion KT77 power tubes, Mullard NOS gain tubes)
    • PHONO: Music Hall MMF-9 and McIntosh MP 100 Preamp (Goldring Eroica lx cartridge)
whyrichard
larsman's avatar
larsman
2,571 posts
 

@jasonbourne71 + 1 - good suggestions; many other NOS upgrade KT77s would sound better than Gold Lions as well. Tube upgrades can be very well worth it.  

freediver
1,403 posts
 

1:NO YOU CAN NOT...
2:With your speakers why are you messing around with an amp other than the amps you know give you the sound you want?

charles007100
120 posts
 

@whyrichard Hello I went down a trail similar to yours, and so glad I left it all behind, what a relief. 
   I got involved with lots of tubes stuff my last big mistake was the PL EVO 400 pre, PL EVO 400 amp and just to put the big mistake cherry on top free falling down the rabbit hole the PL Dac. For a solid year I tried different tubes and spent a lot of money for nothing. When the amp blew a fuse and a EL34 stock tube quit working that was it for me, bought all new stock tubes and sold all the PL stuff to one great local guy. 
  Now what, no amp or preamp done with tubes I spent a lot of time with emails to Nelson Pass a great guy, (long story short get rid of  the tube stuff), I ended up with the Pass Labs preamp, Pass Labs XA-25 amp waiting for the First Watt Sit-4 to began production..the Sit-4 arrived 6 months later, it’s glorious, no more tube stuff running through my brain…do yourself a favor get solid state that sounds good to your ears, otherwise you will always be falling into that tube rabbit hole…I am now in music nirvana, Pass preamp, First Watt Sit-4 amp, Volti Audio Lucera speakers.

NEVER GOING BACK TO TUBE STUFF, MY WIFE BANNED ME FROM TUBES..

 

dekay's avatar
dekay
5,893 posts
 

Do you run it in triode mode?

 

DeKay

tuberist
955 posts
 

I own a prima Luna dialogue premium integrated, and have had it about five years and have no desire to try another tubed amp. I have owned 2 SET amps in the past but  I prefer the presentation of the Prima Luna. I tried the usual NOS route  and now use Ray KT 88 and Ray 12AU7. My amp has transformed into a sound I did not think was possible, very smooth and detailed but not analytical. I was just not using the best possible tubes I guess. I can’t recommend Ray tubes enough. I did not buy the reserve quality KT 88 but went with the select. If anyone tries Ray tubes, they will probably give up the NOS chase, they are that good.

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