PrimaLuna Tube amplifiers

Find out all about the new PrimaLuna Vacuum tube amplifiers at Totally Wired. It's all about the music. Tubes do fantastic things for sound - any style or type of music and in just about any system too. The Dutch company PrimaLuna design and manufacture tube amplifiers for the 21st century. They are reliable, easy to use and compatible with a broad range of both input sources and speakers. And at their entry level, they are supremely affordable.

You owe it to yourself to investigate the new PrimaLuna models - there is no substitute for simply hearing what they can do - imagine lush, room filling sound. Take just 3 minutes to find out out what makes Prima Luna so special in the little video below.

Discover the essence and the philosophy of PrimaLuna in three minutes…

Thanks to Kevin Deal, the US PrimaLuna distributor

Have we got your interest? Our own experience with PrimaLuna started last year when we first heard the entry level Prologue Classic integrated amplifier. While we try very hard to avoid hype, the sound of the Prima Luna was simply the best we have ever heard for well under $3000. In fact it was a lot better than some products we know very well that cost twice that again. Of course, you are entitled (and we'd expect you) to ask exactly how and why is Prima Luna better and is it the right amplifier for you.

The first thing you have to understand is that PrimaLuna is a no-compromise type of company. So their amplifiers are built to the highest standard possible but they are not interested in matching others in terms of features or power ratings. Don't take this the wrong way, but if you are going to buy an amplifier on the basis of a high power rating, you are selling yourself short. There is a whole lot more to music than making your ears ring and we would go so far as to suggest that there is a strong negative correlation between high rated power and actual musical quality. Once you hear how a 35 watt tube amplifier can fill a room, we are sure you'll understand.

As an example, the PrimaLuna Classic Integrated amplifier is really a very simple proposition - 35 watts, 4 line inputs and provision for one pair of speakers. That's it. No remote, no extra connections, no DACs or USB, no surround sound etc etc. It stands or falls on just one thing - sound quality. To get real sound quality, you have to build a product very well and this has a real benefit to you in reliability. PrimaLuna amps are beautifully made, with premium components and will last a lifetime. You get this because they are simple - not festooned with features.

About Tubes

The Vacuum tube as we know it was invented in 1907 - well over 100 years ago. Which means there has been plenty of time to play around with tubes and you could be forgiven for thinking that every approach was exhausted years ago. Or even that tubes are obsolete. But that would spoil a very good story. PrimaLuna have built on well known technologies but have also applied a unique approach to optimizing the operation of tubes - PrimaLuna Adaptive AutoBias. They have a great white paper which explains just about everything you need to know right here.

So if you have read the link above, you'll now understand that just about every issue related to tubes you might have worried about has been dealt with. While tubes do wear out, you'll get a far longer life than you would for a stylus or even a set of tyres for your car. Replacement tubes are inexpensive - just $39 each for the EL34, 12AU7 and AX7s that are standard in most models. Tubes do run warm and the Prima Luna amps all have protective covers to keep little fingers away, but we are not talking about ecologically perilous heat dissipation. In fact many solid state designs are worse - they need large amounts of heat-sinking or fans just to stop their internal transistors from doing their own little chernobyl imitation. What you see with Prima Luna is what you get - the warm glow from the tubes is rather comforting...

Let's look at your options - we've introduced you to the Classic Integrated which is the start of the Prologue range. This comes with EL34 tubes fitted as standard and you can upgrade these for KT88s which will give more power (and also a different sonic signature). Which quickly shows you the big difference between tube and solid state. You can fine tune your PrimaLuna to your own personal preferences, whereas a transistor amp sounds, well, just like it sounds. Another variation with PrimaLuna (and most tube amps) is that there are multiple speaker terminals labelled for 4 and 8 ohm impedances. You can't hurt the amp or speakers by getting this wrong - in fact there is no wrong choice - just the one that sounds best to you. We've found that the differences are both obvious and easily heard.

With PrimaLuna, the sonic aspects we associate with tubes - liquid midrange and highs, naturalness and presence are all there. What is also obvious is that some of the downside qualities we used to associate with 'old style' tube amps like background noise or soft mushy bass simply aren't there. We aren't going to replicate a review here, just telling you that if you listen to PrimaLuna with an open mind, we think you'll be more than impressed.

While it is possible to opt for the upgraded version of the Classic Integrated, we'd far rather just go a little further to the next model up - the Premium Integrated amplifier. This brings us up to the next level with PrimaLuna - in fact this model appears physically very similar to the very best PrimaLuna 'Dialogue' models. It's wider and at a substantial 21kg is heavier. There are a few more useful features such as remote control and connection options. The power rating is the same, but rest assured, it's the sound quality that lifts Premium Integrated even higher in our estimation than the Classic model. Here's a couple of reviews which will give you the full story

"It's hard to walk away from this amp without being mightily impressed."
- Neil Gader The Absolute Sound U.S.A Click here for the article.
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"PrimaLuna strikes again!"
- Werner Ero Music Emotion The Netherlands Click here for the entire review.

The value for money of the PrimaLuna integrated amplifiers is undeniable - this is an ongoing theme in the numerous reviews that abound. This also translates into their pre and power amplifier options which allow you to introduce the magic of tubes into your existing system - a stereo preamplifier, stereo and mono power amplifiers allow for higher performance and greater flexibility.

There is no reason to think that PrimaLuna amplifiers should be consigned to analogue only systems. With any number of high quality, affordable streaming and DAC devices from NuForce, HRT, Sonos, and Cambridge we can build completely modern systems. If you want to hear the NZ made Image loudspeakers at their best, ask to listen to them with the PrimaLuna amps - the result is a real eye opener. There are very few systems that you could introduce a Prima Luna into and not experience a vast improvement. To quote a reviewer - "As if all of the above are insufficient reasons to make a semi-expensive purchase, the clincher is the gorgeous musical presentation that this amplifier provides all day long. Its dynamic contrasts are among the best I’ve encountered; and although its midrange is beauteous, its superb articulation and command of the frequency extremes is what puts it ahead of the competition".

PrimaLuna Prologue series Classic Integrated amplifier NZ$2495
PrimaLuna Prologue series Premium Integrated amplifier NZ$3299
PrimaLuna Prologue series Premium stereo Preamplifier NZ$2995
PrimaLuna Prologue series Premium stereo power amplifier NZ$2995
PrimaLuna Prologue series Premium 70w Mono power amplifiers NZ$5999 the pair

PrimaLuna make tube amplifiers for the 21st century, completely modern and forward thinking. If you want a hifi system that is genuinely special in its abilities it’s time to talk to us and investigate just how you can get into PrimaLuna.

Direct Contact

John Ransley and Sharon Guytonbeck are the principals behind Totally Wired. It’s our own business and we take pride in building something worthwhile.

If you want to contact us directly per mail:

• John Ransley
• Sharon Guytonbeck

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