PrimaLuna Dialogue Preamp = emotionless?


After years of running a PS Audio Direcstream dac directly into ATC active floorstanders, I decided to take everyone’s advice and add a preamp into the mix. I picked up a used PrimaLuna Dialogue with highly regarded Mullard CV4003’s and Phillips 5R4GYS’s, the tubes purchased by the original owner five years ago from Upscale Audio, a terrific source. My correspondents were correct about adding a good preamp: it transforms everything in a very big way. That’s the good news -- and bad. The latter is the reason for posting.

Before the preamp, this was a modestly warm system, for which the Directstream is known. It was one in which it was not hard to find myself drawn into the music and performance. Since adding the PrimaLuna however, I find myself watching -- or listening to -- emotion but not feeling a thing. That is, beyond marveling at the other characteristics of the presentation. After that, I’m left perfectly cold - 100%. This is not at all what I expected -- or desire.

So what to do... Is there anything I should look at with the preamp? What about other preamps, preferably tube ones? The skinny these days is that tube gear developers are trying to imitate the "neutrality" of solid state, the so-called modern tube sound some call it. With the PrimaLuna, I was expecting to find a point in between the classic tube sound and the common solid state one, but what I’m hearing is more than a little distant from that.

(Other than adding the PrimaLuna and not having Ultimate beeswax fuses in the DS and PL currently for other reasons, nothing else in my system has changed: modified Oppo 203 w/ digital output only, PS Audio P15 Regenerator and AC-12 power cords, and MG Audio Design AG2 ICs,)
highstream

Showing 2 responses by johnss

highsream, but being emotionless, am assuming you want more of that CJ warmth from the earlier CJ gear. If so you will need to make two changes.

1. replace the stock coupling caps with jensen or Jupiter copper foil,
2. replace the rectifier tubes with PSVANE 274 high fi grades. the PL pre will come to life then. Its very well made and uses dual mono power supply throughout.

would also suggest you swap out your DAC for a Denafrips. Even the cheapest version will out perform your current dac.

best
first hand experience. bought their cheapest dac; around 660-690.... won't mention any names but compared it to dacs in 2k to 3k range. the little denafrips was much more organic sounding, better imaging, better sound stage depth. so took the plunge and also bought the next model up, called Pontus. did everything the smaller DAC did only better.