Cary, Cayin or Primaluna EL34 for Merlin VSM-MME

The Cary is the only one that is operating in class A. It is also made in America. This amp is truly special with the right speakers. I have not heard the Cayin or the Primaluna but can say the Cary handily beats the Stingray.

@Buconero117: The current Cayin amplifiers have nothing in common with PrimaLuna, other than both being built in China. PrimaLunas have different chassis designs, different circuits, different transformers, different parts, different quality control oversight. While early Cayin amps shared a similar chassis with PrimaLuna, Cayin no longer makes those amps.

@Pubul57: The Adaptive AutoBias circuit in PrimaLuna amps is an extremely sophistocated circuit that constantly monitors and adjusts bias according to operating variables inside the amp. It's not just a simple cathode-bias circuit found in the majority of "auto-biasing" tube amps, which can hinder sound quality.

Bias fluctuates during listening, depending on a number of variables. These flucuations can negatively impact sound quality as the bias drifts away from the optimal setting for the amp. Adaptive AutoBias monitors these changes and adjusts each individual tube according to its needs, ensuring all 4 tubes are always operating at peak efficiency.

A reviewer in England compared two identical PrimaLuna amps, one with Adaptive AutoBias, the other with manual bias, and noticed the unit with Adaptive AutoBias had dramatically better sound quality.

Carter,

Can you please close up with our deal which I RETURNED your amp and waiting for your refund?

Thank you,

KK

Thanks Carter for responding finally and squaring the deal right and well. Thank you and apologize for the interruption on this thread.

Bit out of topic, but...

I own PrimaLuna Prologue Two and that's a very good amp, especially when you tune the sound with valves to your liking, which are endless to choose from. I would go for Two instead of One, cos, jumping from EL34 to KT88 is not the same as from KT88 to EL34, however I will know this for sure when my EL34 arrives.
At the moment I wait for some NOS EL34 Telsa's, not JJ, but the real one from 1970-80's, and I expect some nice changes from already brilliant NOS GEC KT88.
I run it with Sonus Faber monitors, great match, but my surround Canton CD100 speakers become a huge surprise as well, just don't believe they sound that good.