Optimizing the Prima Luna Premium Integrated amp


Having had the Prima Luna Premium Integrated for about 7 months now its been one of my goals to retire the CJ PV10A I had been using for pre amp. However from the start the preamp section of the Prima Luna never seemed to measure up to the CJ in deep bass. Recently however I decided it was time to retube the 12AU7's in the CJ, sticking with trusted NOS Mullard CV4003's. Now having 2 pairs of Mullards to play with I was able to do some comparison swapping in the Prima Luna. Lo and behold, putting the Mullards in the rear 12AU7 sockets of the Prima Luna brought the low bass up to where it should be and differences become trivial swapping a variety of 12AU7's between the CJ and the front sockets of the Prima Luna

Mullard NOS CV4003 highly recommended for the back 12AU7 sockets of the Prima Luna Premium integrated. Not so recommended for both socket pairs as the combination becomes too forward in the bass. Funkwerkes 12AU7 and Prima Luna 12AU7 are in use now while I seek a quicker more neutral tube than the Mullard for the front pair.
davide256

Showing 5 responses by wolf_garcia

Yeah...it is a gamble so I'm always pleasantly surprised when a tube experiment works out in my rig. None of my tubes have been particularly expensive although I have to not think about the total cost of the "collection" piling up for the Jolida.
I'm still waiting for the Gold Pin Deluxe version of the KT120...the current version I own is just too inexpensive for its own good.
I love the sound of my recently acquired NOS Mullard 4024s (replaced my JAN Philips 12At7s due to one failing)...and they seem reasonably priced.
I like the Tubestore Chinese "Preferred Series" 7025s in my Jolida. I mention this because nobody else mentions them...I've become a mention mensch.
Please try KT120s as I'm still waiting for a tranny failure incident report from anywhere. Also, I haven't raved enough about the Chinese made "preferred" 7025s from the tubestore. They are very "clean" sounding and put a more extended and airy (and maybe accurate) top end into my Jolida at what I think is a relative bargain cost. That part could explain why they don't get as much cred as the more expensive anything else. Don't be afraid to spend less! You can lie about the cost later.