Primaluna EVO 300/400 Preamplifier owners - let's hear from you


I'm curious if anyone owns the EVO 300 or 400 Preamps. Besides what your thoughts are on the sonics I would like to know how it is to live with on a daily basis.

Any issues with powering on/off if your amp is already on? Trying to understand order of operations and how sensitive a process powering on is.

How is the volume control to work with via remote? Can you you get very fine adjustments, or is that only possible with the knob on the unit?

Any thoughts on the Balanced vs Single Ended outputs (for the EVO 400)?
Anyone pair it with a SS amp with good results?

Do the Tape outputs work flawlessly?

Please add anything else you think is of note!

Thanks!
shahram
Yes, I use the original tubes and it is very quiet. I only use the remote which is extremely substantial. The volume adjustments are very incremental allowing a lot of adjustment flexibility. I do have a setting where the volume is a little lower than I prefer whereas the next higher setting is a little too loud. I actually prefer the louder setting.

I like music that has a lot of background information because it is now more noticeable. Eric Clapton, the Band, Grateful Dead, Rush, the Beatles, and a lot of other seventies rock bands. The more detail that is generally indiscernible, the better. I’m noticing sounds that I didn’t notice before. I do think that the build is substantial and even though it has a unique appearance, I like it. You can certainly see a lot of tube presence. 
I have been an Evo 400 preamp owner, for 2 mo's. It is is the best preamp I have ever owned, by a wide margin. I have owned 3 others. I use Shunyata PC's on my amp ( SS class AB) and the evo 400, and my source streamer ( Uses Shunyata black Mamba PC) . I also use an oppo bdp 105 modified by Modwright with a tube circuit. It uses a shunyata sidewinder Gold on the outboard tube power supply, and a PS audio pc on the 105. Speakers are B&W Nautilus 805 signature 805. I have never enjoyed the music more. I used Upscale audio's 60 day trial, and I never sent it back. My ears don't lie to me,  whatever the opinions on theses forums say. 40+ yrs in this hobby listening. 

I have used Single ended and Balaced IC's with my Evo 400. The balanced perform much better in my system..I heard noise with the RCA, that disappears with the Balanced IC's. I am using Shunyata Venom digital RCA, and Shunyata Venom XLR with NAD c 658 streamer source. 
I turn on the Evo 400 with the volume turned off.  Amplifier 1st or Evo 400 1st doesn't seem to matter. The Evo 400 has a timer to let the tubes warm, before allowing the source to connect. 


PrimaLuna offers the best value in audio, they're comparable to ARC.  No I'm not a PrimaLuna dealer, just an owner of their monoblocks since they came out.

With all the things going on in China, that can not last much longer, so I suggest git while the gitten is good.
I've had my Evo 400 preamp now, for about 60 days.  It's paired with a Peachtree Amp500, feeding a pair of GoldenEar Triton 2+

The preamp provides a DEAD QUIET noise floor.  Power-on is a flick of the switch, and about 20 seconds later... you hear a click or two... and see the status light flip from red to green.  I use mine DAILY for several hours.

I'm running it with balanced XLR between the Luna and the Peachtree... no hum... no intermod... and you'd expect no less.  I think the way I'd describe this preamp is: "Neutral, but not cold... and sharp, with a pleasant clarity for the price-class."  Much of that is likely the rest of my audio chain, but that's how I'm perceiving it, when I added it to the loop.

The remote is substantial, but in my case, you just "barely" need to tap on the volume buttons to achieve a bump in change... and if you're heavy handed... you can overshoot quite easily.

The build quality really is top notch.  Nothing to sneeze at there.