Mac vs Primaluna

I could not believe that a Mac power amp would have an input impedance of 10k ohms. But I looked it up and it's true. This is outside the norm as most solid state power amps have an input impedance of about 50k ohms (most tube amps about 100K ohms) and with that any Primaluna preamp is perfection.

There is a new PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium preamp that we are just receiving that now uses six 12au7 tubes and a flurry of upgraded parts. I don't have the output impedance yet. I will have it posted to the website in days. You can contact me directly at kevin@primaluna-usa.com if you wish. The Mac tube preamps are nice sounding. But I suggest comparing the internals and making up your own mind.

The unbalanced input impedance of the MC402 is 10K ohms, so it will be necessary to use a preamp with an output impedance of less than 1K ohms, 500 would be even better. The Primaluna preamps are 2.5K ohms and 2.8K ohms, just way too high for the MC402. It would be wise to stay away from the Primaluna preamps.