Considering switching from Audio Research to PrimaLuna, troube with VS115 amp

The group that put together PL are the same European guys, plus Kevin, who brought out the Ah! Tjoeb tube (6922)-buffered CD player about a decade ago. It was built around a rather chintsy plastic Marantz chassis but as for performance and durability I can't fault mine. I had to replace the drive about 6 years ago but considering the near-constant use it got that was no big surprise, and Kevin Deal supplied a replacement dirt-cheap and talked me through the install. The group baby-sits the Chinese very hard on QC and while I've not had the pleasure of PL gear, its predecessor company set an excellent precedent for design, QC and SQ. And the Aj! Tjoeb, while relegated to the small sound system in my den now, still performs daily duties flawlessly.

Other Chinese sourced well reviewed and regarded options would be Audio Space & Line Magnetic (own the latter's 518IA) . Again from US perspective Raven Audio (Texas deisgned and built) have good reviews as well

I owned several solid state amps/pre-amps/integrated amps before moving to tube equipment. My first piece of tube equipment - in 1981 - was ARC. I've stayed with them ever since. I've owned 3 ARC amps and 1 ARC pre-amp. One of the amps required service on 2 occasions - a bad power supply cap when the amp had less than an hour on it and a bad power supply xformer when it was about a year old. Both were repaired under warranty. I had the service performed by ARC and not a dealer. It was fine when it came back both times. (UPS did a number on the exterior box with a forklift. If I have to send something in again, I think I'll use Estes.) The other two amps and the pre-amp have not had any problems. I let ARC put some new caps in when they put new tubes in one of the amps, but I'm not sure it really needed it. I think you might have had a run of bad luck. I know it's a pain to send it to ARC for service, but I think their work is a little more reliable (on average) than dealer service. I never grow tired of the audio quality nor do I ever wished I'd bought another brand.  

I have no experience with the Prima Luna amps, but I do own a Prima Luna CD player (the Classic 8) and pass along my impressions in case they are relevant. For the money (which is a lot less than ARC or other high-end payers cost) the fit and finish and build quality of CD-8 is indeed impressive (a quality that I assume applies to their amps and pre-amps as well.) I did have a problem with the player early on, which turned out to be a real inconvenience because, at the time-- roughly three years ago -- Prima Luna did not have an adequate customer care and servicing operation up and running in the US. Deal first directed me to an "authorized" service center about 30 minutes drive from me, which turned out to be the home of a guy who repaired audio gear out of his living room. He tried twice, but failed both times to diagnose the problem, let alone fix it. I was, at this point, ready to give up on Prima Luna which, although designed in the Netherlands, is manufactured in China. Keep reading, however, because the story has a happy ending... 

Deal subsequently directed me to another repair person, this one based in New Jersey. He found the problem right away, fixed it and  and player has been working flawlessly since then. So my impression is that they have improved their servicing capability. (Quality control in the Chinese manufacturing process has, as far as I understand, also improved significantly, over the period in question.) And the sound? Best and most analogue-like sounding CD player I've ever heard in its price class ($3K). I haven't heard them all, of course, but the lower-end Esoterics (those in the 5-6K class don't hold a candle to it, in terms of the Prima Luna's deep yet well defined bass, its smooth, mellifluous mid-range and pristine treble. So, if the other products in the Prima Luna line are as good as the CD-8 (and if Deal has resolved the servicing department's growing pains... and do question him about this before you buy!), I'd say go for it... And do let me know your experience if you do, as I'm considering replacing both my aging ARC amp and my even older Sonic Frontiers SLF-2 pre-amp. Hope this helps. Bests

Michael         

Spearit Sound has a Conrad Johnson LP125SA Tube Amp at around $4999. Plenty of power at 125wpc. Very quiet and made in the USA.