Prima Luna evo300 owners


As you guys know, this integrated has 6 12au7 type tubes in front.

My question: Do you guys use identical brand tubes across the board or do you mix brands up in the same family and in a specific order to get better sound?

thecarpathian

Showing 2 responses by yakbob

@thecarpathian , I have the Evo 300 power amp and use NOS Tung-Sol black glass 12au7s for the center positions, and a quad of NOS RCA cleartops for the other 4 positions. I also tried my NOS Mullards in the center and there wasn't much of a difference in the sound.

I can say I've been very happy with the Evo 300 both in sound quality and in ease of use for a tube amp. 

 

I'd say the biggest weakness for me has been tube related...specifically the KT-150s which in my case half of all have gone noisy within the span of a few months. It seems design and quality control is a problem with this tube. They sound great if you can find a working set, but at today's prices, I'd recommend skipping them and opting for the Gold Lion KT-88 which offers 90% of the sound quality with way more reliability.

Strengths include great build quality, dead silent operation, and ease of ownership. This is my fourth tube amp, and I never think about it, it just works and provides fantastic sound (driving Tannoy Legacy Ardens).

I've had solid state amps from Pass, McCormick, McIntosh, Jeff Rowland and Conrad Johnson. For a pair of efficient speakers, the Evo provides just as much enjoyment at more reasonable pricing. 

Like McIntosh, Primaluna draws a lot of vocal detractors since they sell in larger numbers and thus have a larger target on their back. You won't score any Fonzie points with the self appointed gatekeepers.