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Features
- XLR
- Tape Out
- Swiss Made Wiring
- Takman Resistors
- DuRoch Tinfoil Capacitors
- AC Offset Killer
- SuperQuiet Inputs
- Dual Mono Topology
- Vacuum Tube Rectified
- Point-to-Point Wiring
- Full Remote Control
- Dual Toroidal Power Transformers
- ALPS Blue Velvet Potentiometer
- Home Theater Pass-Through
AC OFFSET
KILLER - A PRIMALUNA EXCLUSIVE
AC Offset Killer is about goose
bumps. The ones you get when music
comes out of a background so quiet,
you may say to yourself “Just how is
this possible?” PrimaLuna
custom-winds our own massive
toroidal power transformers that are
low in hum and EMI. But we wanted
more. Our engineers designed the AC
Offset Killer to lower transformer
noise to a place no other
manufacturer dreams of going,
regardless of how bad your
electricity is. The result? Sense of
space. Texture. The resonance of an
acoustic guitar or violin string
that seems to trail on forever. The
AC Offset Killer will amaze you.
TAKMAN
RESISTORS
If you bought a lesser amplifier,
you would pay hundreds to make this
upgrade. Easy to identify through
their pink color, these premium
resistors from Japan are popular
with those who rebuild and upgrade
their gear. "Modders" love TAKMAN
for their low noise, linearity, and
musicality.
DUAL TOROIDAL POWER TRANSFORMERS
Power transformers generate two
types of noise, magnetic and
acoustic. That's why toroidal power
transformers are used in the very
best audio products. Compared to
standard transformers, toroids
radiate about 1/10 the magnetic
field that pollutes music and
obscures detail. Additionally, the
absence of an air gap typically
means toroids have an 8:1 reduction
of acoustic noise. As transformers
are the most expensive components in
any audio product, manufacturers
will even house cheaper C-core and
EI-core transformers in an outboard
power supply box with an umbilical
cable rather than upgrade to an
expensive toroid. The increased cost
is significant, but PrimaLuna
doesn’t cut corners. All PrimaLuna
products use massive, potted
toroidal transformers. PrimaLuna
transformers are enclosed in a metal
housing and then potted in a
non-microphonic resin to further
reduce noise and to protect the
windings from moisture and
deterioration forever. They are
massive, resulting in a preamp
weighing a substantial 53 pounds.
Tube rectified
In the world of preamps, experts
agree that tube rectification is the
gold standard. It’s quieter than
solid state rectification, dropping
the noise floor. And it offers the
most natural, textured, and vibrant
presentation because the circuit is
now pure tube. But because it is
expensive to implement, you’ll only
find it in the top of the line
models typically costing $10,000 or
more. Finding a preamp using one
rectifier tube is sweet. PrimaLuna
goes even further using two 5AR4
rectifier tubes in a dual-mono
design to present your music with a
three-dimensionality that will give
you goosebumps
 Japanese ALPS Blue Velvet
Potentiometer
The best tube preamps use analogue
volume controls. Not volume control
chips. Look inside the most
well-known brand of tube preamps and
you will see a chip called a
DS1666-10 Digital Resistor IC. At
Primaluna, we understand the
temptation to use this chip as they
cost $4 each (half that in quantity!).
The preamp will sound fine and be
quiet, but true to “chips” it will
add an electronic “sheen” to the
sound. PrimaLuna prefers analogue.
And we use the Gold Standard in
motorized potentiometers: The iconic
Alps Blue Velvet. Why? Because they
track perfectly, stay quiet, and
don’t sound like chips!
SuperQuiet Line Inputs
Input selector switches leak noise
and signals from other sources, as
they never turn off the other inputs
completely. And, they deteriorate
with age, requiring the use of
cleaners. Many are mounted on the
front panel requiring long runs of
wires to the back panel inputs.
These wires pick up stray noise from
RF and EMI. PrimaLuna has a better
way. Instead of a switch, input
selection is done using premium
quality sealed relays mounted in the
rear where you plug in your
components. When an input is
selected, that relay closes giving
you the best connection possible.
All the other relays are left open,
so noise and signals from other
sources can’t leak in. The signal
path is now almost non-existent, so
there are no wires to pick up noise.
POINT TO POINT WIRING
You spend a lot of money on
interconnects. So why have the
signal go right from the RCA jacks
or speaker terminals into circuit
boards with copper traces so thin
you can hardly see them? What’s
high-end about that? PrimaLuna
employs Point to Point Wiring on all
products. EVO 300 and EVO 400 models
even use Swiss-made silver-plated
OFC wire. The entire signal path,
including resistors and capacitors,
is painstakingly hand wired with
heavy-gauge cable by craftsman.
NO INTERNAL DAC / NO INTERNAL
PHONOSTAGE
Never buy a preamplifier with an
internal DAC. Why? Because digital
changes, and history shows that
preamplifiers with “old” digital
become unwanted and have almost no
resale value. Built in phonostages
are “throw in” and are rarely good
quality because manufacturers assume
90% of buyers won’t use them. The
external phonostage market is very
competitive. You can get something
much better for as little as $200,
and buy one that actually meets your
cartridges needs and YOUR budget.
Dual-Mono Design
Expensive and exotic preamps always
use a dual-mono design to achieve a
level of imaging not possible
otherwise. Most manufacturers don’t
employ dual-mono because of expense.
It requires two power transformers,
double regulation circuits, and in
fact….everything is double. In
effect, dual-mono means building two
discrete and separate preamps into
one box. It is so expensive to build,
it’s a rarity even at the highest
price points. All PrimaLuna preamps
are dual-mono for the ultimate in
stereo imaging and a sense of space
that goes on forever.
SmartGain Design
A preamplifier is typically not
required to add any gain to your
system when you are using it. It is
usually lowering gain from the
source you are listening to. The
number one complaint from
audiophiles about preamp performance
is noise. So why is it that so many
manufacturers design preamps with 20
to 27dB of gain? And you wonder why
there is "hiss", and why tubes go
noisy or microphonic? PrimaLuna
preamps use SmartGain. With a gain
specification of only 10dB, you will
find your PrimaLuna preamp is as
quiet as a church mouse. If tubes
are less than perfect, you may never
know it because they are not
amplifying as "loud". High
efficiency speaker owner's rejoice!
PerfectMatch
Another exclusive PrimaLuna feature
is PerfectMatch, a circuit designed
to present a perfect 100K ohm
impedance to your source components.
This is vitally important especially
for tube source components, such as
phonostages and DACs to sound their
very best.
DiaLogue FRONT-END CIRCUITRY
The DiaLogue Premium uses three
12AU7 tubes per channel. The result
is even lower distortion and
increased bandwidth over ProLogue.
The change in dynamic range is
stunning! Distortion levels in the
first stage have dropped by a factor
of five at low levels, and at least
20 at higher levels, above one volt.
The four 12AU7’s on the outside are
driver tubes. By using four instead
of two, we can swing more voltage.
The two tubes in the center are the
input tubes, and that’s where you
want to have fun later if you wish
by experimenting with different tube
brands.
Specifications
- Inputs: 3x Stereo RCA, 2x Stereo
XLR, 1x Stereo HT Bypass
- Outputs: Stereo RCA, Stereo XLR,
Stereo RCA Tape Out
- Gain: 10 dB
- Freq. Response: 18Hz-38kHz +/-
1dB, 12Hz-75Hz +/- 3dB
- THD: < 0.5% @ 2 Volts
- S/N Ratio: 93 dB, 98dBA
- Input Sensitivity: 650mV
- Input Impedance: 220kΩ
- Output Impedance: 256Ω
- Power Consumption: 61 watts
- Standard Tube Complement: 6 -
12AU7, 2 - 5AR4
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 15.2" x 8.1" x
15.9"
- Weight: 52.8 lbs |
