Primaluna?

@brylandgoodman 

Sorry to hear you’ve been somewhat turned off by Kevin… I don’t know him, but I completely understand where he is coming from. He is really knowledgeable and very enthusiastic. I have been very serious about high end audio and very early on recognized the 100% correlation between weight and sound quality. I am sure someone will come up with an exception… but after auditioning and owning hundreds of components the rule holds. If he had told me one weighed much more than the other, that would be it, I would have shut my mouth and accepted everything.

Power management and current are everything in high end audio… and it weighs a lot. A lightweight preamp or amp is just not going to cut it. So, I see your point… he assumed that this comment would be self evident. From what you said, he was very honest and enthusiastic about what he told you. But maybe didn’t read you right.

Amps I can understand much better. Preamps not so much. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard Kevin him self talk about how preamps aren’t amplifyIng the sound as much as they are reducing the signal. I think he duscusses this when talking about the amount of gai. The Primaluna preamps have. This makes me feel that while large current capabilities and large transformers may create a sound that some or a majority may prefer I am skeptically of its necessity.  I’ remember reading an article about PS Audio and that they were apparently one of the early designs to use what the described as an OVERSIZED transformer. This again makes me feel that undoubtedly large transformers may change the sound, but it’s also possible one might prefer the sound in there system in there house that comes from a smaller transformer.  I could be wrong for sure but I don’t think you NEED a large transformer to put out a couple volts.  

I've had a Primaluna HP 8 tube integrated amp for 5 years now and I love it. Its the best amp I've ever owned. The stock EL34 tubes are beautiful and the auto bias and safety features are world class. It's all point to point wiring and the attention to detail is 1st class. Yes there are other tube amps out there but with all aspects of the amp being monitored with offset killers and toroidal transformers for power and  speakers, each channel it's whisper quiet. It's plug and play and with auto bias, there is no crossover distortion and no bias checking every month. I can't fault this amp. The amount of people who use it as a reference amp is ridiculous.....it's that good. Cheers, Andrew Peter Collins, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

I just want to clarify that I’m not knocking Primaluna in any way, and plan to purchase one in the future. Was just sharing my experience with Kevin and what I thought about it.  I do think from my research that Primaluna makes a very well made, well thought out, and musical product.   

@brylandgoodman those are all fair points! It’s unfortunately quite human to assume people around you know and understand topics on a similar level. When you’re good at something it comes easy and natural and it’s hard to realize that others might not be on the same level. This can create conflicts in communication and can come off as arrogant or patronizing. It’s up to both parties of the communication channel to understand this and negotiate the right protocol.

on the PL site you can read this statement: “Output transformers are the most important part of any tube amp. They determine how low the bass will reach and how high the top end goes.” Of course this sounds like a marketing catch phrase, but it’s actually true.

 Here you can get deeper as to why this is.