The PrimaLuna as well as some ot the other amps mentioned in this thread are all nice amps, but perhaps not the best pairing with your R700's. The JBL's might be a better pairing. Although the dealer should demonstrate a tube amp through horn loaded speakers, maybe other JBL's. Even L100's like SS amps and more power and will not give you the same tube experience that you will get with a horn loaded speaker.
If you are not locked in on the PrimaLuna try the VPI 299D. Only 100 made and for some reason they are still Avalible and you can get them well off retail. IMHO they sound better and are built better. Do a couple of searches for the VPI and it will reenforce what I am saying. I was a solid state person for over 50 years. I will only use a tube amp until they day I die or to deaf to hear anything.
I've heard the Prima Luna EVO Integrated's at my NH dealer many times. The EVO 100 is excellent w/the Klipsch Forte III. In fact the last time I heard the Forte III was w/the new Luxman SQN-150 tube integrated. Just 10 wpc and the system really rocked.
I am very interested in Primaluna, but my budget is not allowing me to buy it yet, so I bought Muzishare X5 from Amazon. What I can say is WOW! I had expensive amps before (like pair of Classe M700 mono-blocks) and Muzishare for me sounds much, much better. My speakers finally started to play real low bass. Now, I'm looking to get X7 edition and going to return X5 back to Amazon.
Awesome. Does it run very hot, or more on the cool side, like a Primaluna? Does it have any kind of CE or UL safety certification?
Doubtful. The strange name with the addition of a bullet point mentioning they include an English manual screams Chinese company so likely not certified.
FWIW, I asked on Amazon Q&A if it had any such rating and the seller responded “Hi, All the MUZISHARE audio items pass China Compulsory Certification(CCC) and European Union CE certification”
@Lebowski - I'm curious if you ever warmed up (is that a pun?) to the Prima Luna? I'm going to be auditioning the EV100 and the Simaudio Moon 240i. I should have a solid few days to make my decision on whether to go tube or ss, but I'm wondering how you felt about the PL after sitting with it for a while?
There are certain albums that really shine when played through the Primaluna (I have the Dialogue PHP). Was playing the Rhino LP of Joni Mitchell's Blue the other day at full volume, and the guitar and vocals were just soaring. Then spent Saturday afternoon with Portishead's Dummy and the midrange vocal was incredible.
Ultimately I didn’t love it. I think it’s a well made product, but listening to it didn’t really excite me. It was okay with my KEFS. I also tried it with some Cornwalls but that was also just ok. Had the chance to hear it back-to-back with a vintage Fisher tube amp on the Cornwalls and the Fisher brought a lot more to the table. It was not subtle. I guess it will depend on your tastes and speakers (I didn’t see any listed in your profile). In the end I stayed with solid state. I got a Supernait 2 that I really like.
Cool, thanks man. Yea I'm in the process of upgrading my system, most likely going with Klipsch Heresy or Forte III, and from what I gather tubes are a great match for them. I will not rule out solid state though, but I'm definitely a tube newb as well, so looking for all the info I can get before my taking them home from the dealer to demo. (Yes I know the dealer will give me a ton of info...but lets be honest, they have an agenda). He's also got the Luxman intro level integrated tube amp, so I'll probably give that a shot as well.
If I just have an extra money, Id buy the equal previous model of the EVO 100 which is the prologue classic. I demo that amp in my house for almost 2 weeks and I love it. I would not even get the EVO 200 if because of the remote. I was planning to put a motorized wireless volume control but they said if I do that, they'll possibly void the warranty. I notice that the EVO 200 has a slight difference in brilliancy than the previous model. But youre not gonna be missing anything what you start rolling the preamp tubes. Primalunas are hard hitting amps. they have a lot of power due to the better transformer and more quality wirings. You match it with the right speakers, that's it. and the tone cab be endless due to the tube interchange. I really love it.
I actually never ended up auditioning it. A great deal on a used PL Dialogue Premium came up in my neighborhood so I snagged it.
As a first time "Tube Amplifier" buyer, I've looked at many options. On the cheaper, Chinese end, is the Yaqin MC13S and twice that cost is the Willsenton R8. They both get great reviews but I'm concerned about longevity and servicing if anything goes wrong. I do like the Adaptive Bias of the PrimaLuna Evo 100 Integrated Amplifier and the inherent safety features. Less maintenance is great and while I might eventually "tube roll," I'll probably stay with the stock tubes for some time. And I assume that there will be some trade-in value with the PrimaLuna EVO 100 if I want to step up in the future as compared to the previous amps listed. I'm going to match the amp with a vintage pair of DALI Evidence 470 speakers which are 4 ohm and 90 db sensitivity. Primarily for streaming. A couple questions: (1) Does this sound like a good match, amplifier wise? (2) I'm looking at the Bluesound Node 2i for streaming QoBuz. Does a different DAC or streamer/DAC make that much difference in sound quality? Lastly - - I didn't understand one poster's comment that the EVO 100 sounded more like a solid state amp. Was that in reference to his other amp? What's the point if a tube amplifier sounds like a solid state amp? I'm not sure I understand that. Much thanks.
Hate to bump this old thread but I am also curious how to go about pairing a streamer/dac to a tube amp setup. Rockenator how did you end up making out? I've researched the blue sound node2i as well and am under the impression that it's a easy to use streamer with good features but not the best DAC.
***I ended up with the Muzishare X7 KT88 (bought from Amazon) and have been extremely happy with its performance. About $600 cheaper than the EVO100 with both Triode and Ultra Linear mode. The Bluesound Node 2i works fantastic for me. Also - - it's a programmable DAC (Bluesound custom modifications) so it's not a "static" DAC by any means. It can be modified with firmware updates on the software side. Plus - - you can't beat the BlueOS software/interface for streaming, IMHO. Hands down, the absolute best way to navigate via streaming services. I use my Apple iPad Mini with the application.
