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
charles007100
109 posts
 

@whyrichard I hope the tube journey you are on turns out ok, trying 300b and the Ray tubes won’t do it. When you hit bottom get away from tubes..

 

bpoletti
1,568 posts
 

You could get sell your Prima Luna and get a SET/300B.  Then it would sound like a SET/300B.  

trivema's avatar
trivema
153 posts
 

Try a Svetlana St Petersburg EL 34’s.  Closest my Dennis Had Inspire KT-88 amp comes to having the rich full midrange of my Cary Audio 300B SEI amp.  PrimaLuna’s are great amps, but voiced a little more toward the modern tube amp transparent sound.  Pentodes have more power than triodes, drive more “clarity” which is a little less “bloomy” than triodes.  
 

You have some great gear, search for NOS EL 34’s, more warmth than any new production tube.  

aggie88
18 posts
 

Maybe you need to pursue a high quality class AB or class A. amp.  There will always be limitations with the Prima Luna.

ghdprentice
8,200 posts
 

I always wanted to experience the 300b sound. But for forty years was pursuing planar speakers... pretty much the opposite direction... I needed massive power. 

After retiring I decided to upgrade my headphone system that began with years of pursuing the best possible sound... I tried many high end head amps I imported one from Germany... then I found Woo head amps. After being really happy with a couple... I realize I could upgrade to their 300B headphone amp. So I got the Woo Wa5 and then tried a couple different 300B tubes... settling on Takatsuki 300B... arguably the best made. 

Changed my life. The incredible power (this head amp comes with speaker outputs it is so powerful)... took total control of all the different headphones I had and produced the warmest, most detailed, musical, and powerful sound I have every heard. I can listen to them for hours. Many years later, I still listen to this system every day (see my virtual systems).

It also triggered a complete upgrade / change in direction of my main system. I realized my main system was sterile and analytical sounding. I swapped out all but one piece of equipment. It is now an all Audio Research system and has many similar characteristics to my headphone system, musical and natural sounding. 

I also have a PrimaLuna integrated (I’m listening to it now). It does not start in the right place it get you there. 

If you really want to experience 300B... you might try what I did. Apply 300B tubes to a headphone system. They have plenty of power for that. Then save up for some Takatsuki tubes... $2K per pair. Jaw dropping sound. 

Generally speaking for main systems, you need more powerful components. But to get natural and musical... somewhat like the 300B, I recommend looking to Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, and VAC. These companies focus on producing natural and musical sounding systems. 

More to discover