Primaluna Dialogue HP integrated

Posted in another forum, but I haven't received any comments yet. Does anyone own one of these? How do you like it? What did you have prior to it? What speakers do you use? Thank you.

 

I don't have one but I want one. I have a dialogue one integrated amp and I really like it. I have goldenear triton twos.

 

I, too, will be watching this thread as I find the Dialogue Premium HP amp intriguing. It seems to have the performance and power at the right price for me.

 

I had the opportunity to demo this integrated at home this labor's day weekend. It sounded wonderful. With the stock EL34 tubes it managed to drive my Stirling LS 3/6 speakers very nicely, which was a big surprise to me as these are officially 87db and measured by Stereophile to be only 84db sensitivity.
There was a slight edge in the high frequencies, nothing too annoying mind you, that started to mellow down after the third day, my dealer said that the demo unit was not broken in yet. Other than that, it sounded fantastic. For the money, IMO there is nothing else even remotely comparable in sound quality.

 

What amplifier did you own before? Do you plan on keeping it?

 

I own a McIntosh MA 6600 and Jadis JA200 Monoblocks among other things.
No, I did not plan to keep it.
I just wanted to listen to it. I was so intrigued by the reviews that Primaluna has gotten online, like Stereophile that gave it a Class A rating, so I wanted to see for myself if the reviews were true.
Like I said, I got very impressed.

 

I have the Dialogue Premium, not the HP, driving Spendors A6 @88 dB sensitivity. It's 32 wpc in ultralinear mode drive the Spendors wonderfully! Even a little over 12.5 wpc in triode mode sounds great on some sources and music.
Midrange is wonderfully smooth yet detailed. Bass aplenty! I've got a Peachtree Nova 65SE which I've tried with the Spendors, a little more grip on the bass but doesn't come close on midrange and high end sweetness and timbre.

 

I am concerned with lower frequency control and detail.

 

It's the hardest thing to do with tubes. I'm not saying it can't be done but I've never heard a tube amp that could beat a solid state amp in this region. Just saying. I'd love to be proven wrong.

As I mentioned upthread, this amp interests me. I can see myself easily buying one. I wouldn't buy it expecting it to beat or even equal my Plinius integrated amp in power and detail for the lowest bass frequencies. I'd buy it for a whole bunch of other reasons, mostly in the midrange. Never forget that 80% of the music is from the upper bass to the lower treble.

 

Thank you for your input. My HP is not nearly broken in yet, but I find myself longing for that detail in the bass, particulary on jazz recordings. I loved the detail in the low registers when a bass player was plucking strings. I enjoy the midrange immensely on my HP, but I wonder if I made the wrong decision...

 

You hadn't said that you had purchased one. Can you return it if you don't like it?

 

I have had it for a few months, only have about 20 to 30 hours on it, but I sold my old amp...

 

I don't want to be misunderstood. It sounds great, but I guess that I really love those low notes! Wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this, perhaps some more break-in is in order?

 

You might try some tube rolling. I have had a Prologue 1 for a long time. Did some tube rolling with it early on with great results. I'm not saying you'll get the bass detail you want but it's worth a try I think before giving up on the amp. I'd also see how you feel after you get 100hrs or so on it. Way back I went from a Krell integrated to the Primaluna. The Krell had the bass punch but couldn't compare with the lushness of the midrange or the overall totality of the tube amp. In the end I found I didn't miss the bass detail because I was hearing so much more music overall with the tubes.

 

You will never get lows of equal quality to a ss amp from tubes.

 

Did you have KT-150's in it?

 

I reviewed it in issue 77 and bought the review sample. Great amp. Love the warmth of the EL34s, but love the extra power of the KT-150s. Drove the Sonus faber Il Cremonesa and the MartinLogan Neolith with ease. Even the guy from Fine Sounds that set up the Sonus fabers was impressed. Don't think you can beat it for the money...

 

primaluna amps are a great value for the money.
bass is very good, as tube amps go.

 

I have the el34s. I am afraid to spend $800 simply to reaffirm that I don't like it. Perhaps that is the way to go though. Thank you for the input.

 

I had a Prologue Two and upgrading from the stock input valves did tighten up the bass somewhat. I then went from the stock KT88s to (winged-c) EL34s and preferred that balance, with still enough oomph. The bass was never super-tight in any configuration, but it always had a nice natural, organic weight to it. Lovely amp.

Was used with ProAc 140 mk.2 speakers.

 

What did you move to and why?

 

Move amp?

One of the output valve resistors dramatically blew once on the PL - fixed and worked no problem, but changed when moving in with my partner and her kids as I didn't want that risk.

Changed to a Croft - in my profile.

 

I don't know what to think. I just finished listening to Ein Heldenleben. It sounds nice, not fatiguing at all. I guess that I am missing the lower frequency authority of my Pass. It also was very smooth and pleasing. I will give the HP 100 hours of break in and then perhaps try the kt 150s if I can swing it. Perhaps my speakers need more current, but I am afraid to lose the sweetness of the el34s...

 

I also have a PrimaLuna Prologue Two. You can get outstanding results with these amps after break-in and some tube rolling. You can tune your amp according to your taste/speaker/musical preferences. If you give a good power cable to the amp it elevates it even to a higher level. It is very hard to beat at this price level IMHO. Although haven't heard the Dialogue level yet. It is considered that it's even better then the Prologue line. I am going to listen my amp against a Dialogue soon to compare them.

 

I owned the Primaluna Prologue Five power amp a while back which is not in the same league as the Dialogue HP so take this FWIW.

I found the amp to be underwhelming in my system. I did some tube rolling with upgraded tubes and feel it was fully broken in. What sealed it for me was when I swapped back in my 30 SS watt Cairn amp and heard the magic return.

I did like the look of it though while playing at night with the lights off