@defiantboomerang,
I strongly recommend you to go audition the Line Magnetic 219ia. Other models are also very good, but this one is the flagship and it produces a fabulous sound without a hint of noise.
If you like it I can sell you one for far less than the regular price. Just send me a message and I'll give you all the details (photos, videos, information, etc). |
@lalitk
Thank you, they do look very refined. Do they make any models with E-I transformers? I am not big on the toroidal ones.
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@aolmrd1241
Sorry bro, didn’t want to weird you out. I just love old school industrial design. There is some undeniable honesty that emanates from such devices.
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Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I am less interested in Audio art work than in I am in beautiful sound. I think the PR’s look fine but there are many better sounding amps to be had regardless of what Stereophile says. Their reviews are meaningless, bought and paid for. Just my opinion of course.
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@defiantboomerang,
If you decide to go with decware, let me know your thoughts. |
@mdeblanc , I once owned the Decware ZMA and I do consider it a work of art and sounded pretty darn good too. I sold it for the ugly duckling LTA ZOTL 40 and the sound has me hooked for life.
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This is a hobby about the love of music. What the H does it matter? I owned a pair of VTL Deluxe 300 for 15 years... now those things look like something resurrected in a Mad Max movie. "Industrial"-looking is a compliment. I had to close one eye to look at them.
I own a PrimaLuna HP integrated... I think it is nice looking. But hey... I care about the music.
Peace
Bruce in Philly
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I don’t get all the op bashing; our hobby would be better off if more of us (and especially reviewers) were willing to be brutally frank about what we DIDN’T like -- but oh, that might offend somebody! And presto, we have a 2nd hand FS market glutted with models that nobody ever wrote a bad word about (and hence the eternally stupid buyer question "why are you selling?").
I don’t love the Prima Luna look either, op, but I don’t think it’s bad. They did a pretty good job suppressing and smoothing out most of the gaudy bits of the typical Chinese tube amp. There was clearly some good attention to detail here. Tube cage is ugly, though. |
@mulveling
Thanks, man. You raise some excellent points. |
@mulveling ....totally agree. PL is not my cup of tea either, but I’m much more concerned with sound than looks. Give me substance. Perhaps that’s why we’re Tannoy aficionados. Best.....
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I have a PL Dialogue Premium pre but almost didn't buy it due to not being a fan of the breadbox look (curved tube cage). Glad I got over it as I've been very happy with the sound. I usually have the cage off as most of my listening is done at night with the room darkened and I love to see the tubes glow. When I have the cage in place I think nothing of it - guess it bothered me when I was looking to buy but no issues now. Lots of choices out there so take your time and do plenty of research. Good luck! |
@lancelock wow I will have to check out the ZOTL |
As others have said, take the cage off and the PL looks like any other tube amp. Put the cage back on when you have little kids with sticky hands over that don’t listen. |
@facten
Thank you for the reviews. The hum issue, that the reviewer discovered, really bothers me. I also heard hum in a LM-216; JA found LM-518 to be noisy in his review in the Stereophile. Could these be the fruits of low quality manufacturing? What is the quality level of LM transformers? For example, the ultrasonic resonance that the JA discovered in his review of LM-518 was in my view unacceptable for an amplifier in a price class this high.
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What more answers do you want on the LM that are going to really change your mind? A couple of us that actually own them have given you personal feedback,, and I also gave you links to other reviews that didn't indicate any issue with hum. If you don't think these are quality amps suggest you just move on from them. |
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Op...Check out Raven Audio website. I have the Raven Reflection Integrated MK2 tube amp. Great look and super power and sound. Dave Thomson is the owner and is more than happy to spend a lot if time describing what you can get in all price ranges. |
One factor in buying an amplifier, besides the aesthetics, is the customer service and warranty. Beauty is often very subjective but quality service not so much. I had a failure of a transformer on my LM Audio 216ia after around 3 years. The dealer shipped it back to a US distributer for repair at no cost to me. So that told me Line Magnetic backs their gear. Many audio companies fail to back their warranty and make the buyer pay for parts and service, if they agree to fix a component at all. I have gone done that road with much regret....
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@facten
Many thanks, your help has been invaluable.
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defiant
Jonathan Halpern of Tone Imports is the US distributor for Line Magnetic - here's his email address - shindo.usa@mac.com - possibly he can satisfy your transformer questions .
I have found him responsive to emails |
@facten
Thanks again. You know a whole lot about the audio community.
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@defiantboomerang
Yes you can run the Rogue with kt88 |
@soundwatts
Thank you. Can I just plug in my KT88's and it will work? Do I have to do anything else to adjust for different tubes? |
Lower the bias a bit before installing. Then, when warmed up, check the bias again and adjust to the recommended level. |
Check out Raven Audio out of Texas. |
Like soundwatts, I have a Rouge Cronus Mag. II and am most happy with it. In all respects, the KT120s outperform the KT88s, particularly with less efficient speakers. As mentioned, both the Rouge and the PrimaLuna are about half the cost of some others mentioned. If you are considering up to $10,000.00 you might consider the VAC phi 200 - one of the nicest tubed amp I've heard, especially when operated through the balanced section. And it looks very nice - day or night....Jim
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i think line magnetic makes great looking and sounding gear at a primaluna pricepoint. exceptional build quality to boot |
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Not to be offensive, but how in the heck can I guess what YOU think is beautiful. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as the saying goes. You're going to have to figure this one out yourself.
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Many nice suggestions. Thank you very much. @corelli You are right, I was too vague in my original post. Tried to make it more precise, though. The VAC Phi 200 looks spectacular. So does the Conrad Johnson CAV-45. And the SLI-80 is just almost perfect (don’t really like the tilted output transformers too much). But didn’t the Stereophile measure a Cary Audio amp some time ago and found it to be so bad from the technical perspective that they called it a joke? ( https://www.stereophile.com/content/cary-audio-design-cad-300sei-integrated-amplifier-measurements-p...) |
Yes some Amps are quite ugly.
However the EAR V12 seems to have the right balance of looks and performance. Check it out |
See I am not a fan of LEDs on my Tube amps. ;-) That would be a deal breaker for me on the VAC.
I do like the CJ CAV-45.
However I do feel the Decware amps are the best looking amps of the bunch. Lifetime warranty, great customer service and design - and they sound damn good too!
Moral of the story, all of this is subjective! :-)
Keep the wax spinning.
-Ron |
I love the sound of the Sophia Electric. Guessing it would put Prima luna to shame |
Sounds bogus...dealer agenda maybe? I could say I love the sound of Primaluna and would put Sophia Electric to shame. Assuming something does not make it a fact.
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Hey 1241. The operative word is " guessing " The final decision as always is yours.
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To the OP: can you describe the set-up you heard that leads you to conclude that the LMs "sound terrible"? I've heard quite a few. I've no problem if someone were to prefer, say, the ARC or Manley house sounds; that's simply a matter of taste. But "terrible"? I can only imagine they were being asked to drive low impedance multi-driver speakers, or the source was poor, or a tube was failing, or something else.
BTW, I would also hesitate to necessarily blame an amp for humming -- if there's DC on the line, the transformers will probably hum...
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@lalitk
Thank you for the recommendation and I am excited to see you enjoyed our setup at RMAF.
@defiantboomerang:
For me the 845 tube is king. I can say unabashedly that the MastersounD amplifiers are absolutely noise free. Clients who come to listen actually point this out not only when no music is playing, but also comment on the black background that rivals high quality SS amps. The secret to their amplifiers lies in the high quality transformers they design and build in-house. The Compact 845 would be a good option and power all but truly demanding speakers. |
The EAR912 and the Zesto Tessera are very versatile. Just added the Zesto line.
jjaudiosolutions.com |
Buy what SOUNDS good to you. Then put it in a cabinet. Itlll look great!
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@soundermn
I am a rather visual type. It it does not look good, I keep thinking about the looks and it completely spoils the experience. |
I own both the PL Dialogue Pre and the HP power amp. The sound is enjoyable for the price point. With all the comments about the LM 518 I really wonder now if I am missing something. Good thing with the PLs is the tube rolling options to fine tune. |
@lancelock My speakers are 92db efficient. What's your opinion on how well the ZOTL40 will drive them? |
@mdeblanc , I use the ZOTL40 to power my 87db sensitive Janszen zA2.1 hybrid electrostats and I have plenty of headroom. You could probably use the ZOTL10 and have enough power. LTA has a nice trial policy so you can send it back. I also use the MZ2 as a preamp for excellent synergy.
Lance
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3D print a metal box for your chosen amp or use wood
I find the Primalunas to look like they are trying hard to impress ( a negative) and I find equipment that is limited to SE with no balanced in/out to be not serious. But I've heard they do sound good. |
3D printing -- now that is a brilliant idea for modifications, not just regarding Primaluna.
I agree, they are trying too hard and that's a bit sad/annoying.
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Defiant. I agree with an earlier post that suggested they look better in the flesh. I've seen a few and I agree. That breadbasket cage is surely removable. |
The thing is, Primalunas offer a lot of options that many other amps do not. They are auto biased, you can use a multitude of tubes, they are remote controlled. They have high quality parts inside, etc.
I haven't really found comparable options in other tube amps, if they are matched on one thing, they lack something else, and so on. |
i would recomend you the elekit amp and pre amp, less money for a great equipment!! made in japan. |
I used to own some Hegel gear that I thought was ugly but it sounded very good. I sucked it up because I liked the sound. Then I had the misfortune of listening to a class A Accuphase amp and that was the end of the Hegel (and luckily not my marriage). This is the first time in 30 years I haven't thought about audio at all. I happen to think this Accuphase gear is stunning and timeless but if it wasn't, I'd still own it. If the Primaluna Dialogue HP is as good as they say it is, I wouldn't think twice about buying one. The praise is too hard to ignore. Do you have small children so the cage would be required? My kids are all older so the cage would be in the box it came in for me.
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