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 1 response by mozartfan

Look you really do not know what you have
You have a  incredible preamp,,
the problem = no life/murky/not happy with resolution/etc etc 
Easy fix, 
Count youtself very lucky,,here is the easy simple fix.
You  have SIX AU plugs. 
Do what i did to mkae my defy7 to come to life, 
add the 
Philips Special Quality E80CC , ~~aka, tall Boys to all 6 AU spots. 
Then report back to us. btw also look at the Siemens tall Boys, look identical to the Philips,,
btw, from hench forth the Philips SQE80CC will be known as PSQE80CC. , as i am telling the world about this tube, and prices are about to sky rocket.  I plan to add the Cayin SC6 which has 4 AU's in the pre
Make sure you posta  report on the PSQ's, as i want confirmation on what i  know to be true, no hype. 
So dump all your NOS, cheap on ebay,  and buy the PSQ.