Good design and build quallity.

cheap tubes!

I have this amp 2 years now and i love it. For its money, it's an excellent amp, and compared to more expensive tube amps like cary sli80, unison research s6, Edgar tp101 mkii, etc., it's not bad at all, and even better in one or two respects. But IF, and this is a huge IF, if you'll throw away those bright, screamy, basic chinese tubes, and replace them with decent tubes, you'll be hapy, i promise that. For my taste, i keep 2 quads of tubes: Black Sable EL34 - the best new production EL34 available today! Guaranteed! I tried JJ, EH, sovtek, Tung sol, and nothing don't come even close to the superb quallity of the Black Sable: they are smooth, with a natural tone (not "tubey", not bright), very low noise floor, superb and articulate bass, beautifull highs, right mids, wonderfull resolution and speed. My second quad is the Gold Lion KT88 (you can read a lot about them in the internet). The pre tubes are a long and frustrating story. It's not easy to find a good 12AU7. It's a nasty and tricky tube and you must attack it, as they say, from the flanks: from the power tubes and the 12AX7. To cut a long story short, i found that the best 12AX7 for this amp is EAT ECC803. Very expensive tube, but once heard, you are hooked and the magic begins. I love to try their (EAT) KT88! I suppose you die to know what kind of 12AU7 i have. Well, i'm still experimenting, and my choice now is Telefunken. Now let me tell you: this amp with those tubes i mentioned is a blessing to the mind and soul, and i don't feel any itch to replace it! And that's come from a mouth of an ardent audiophil! Now let me tell you another thing: i compared it to VAC Super Avatar (discontinued: 6000$). The sound quallity of the VAC was better, including the flow and musicallity, and the bass too, but all in a margin. And when it came to transparency, resolution, speed and attack, well, the PL simply smashed the VAC. Yes, and you had to see the face of its owner!

Similar Products Used:

See above.

Beautiful mids, sweet top end, clean, clear, tight bass not boomy
Beautiful soundstage

not a one for my $

It's been a month +/- since my purchase of PrimaLuna Prologue Two Integrated Amp. I spent many a weekend auditioning and researching a TUBE INTEGRATED that would best match my present setup and room size and most importantly my budget. Although my research and auditioning was not in vane the best thing I did was to speak to Kevin Deal @ Upscale Audio, Kevin was very helpful in guiding me with confidence and assurace regarding the Prologue Two. From the moment I opened (very well packaged shipment) the box I could appreciate the workmanship, detail and quality of the PrimaLuna line, thanks Kevin for all your help and an excellent product.

very musical, good detail, price Excellent sound, great looking,very reliable Strongly recomended second-hand buy.

None

I did a lot of research and listening and decided to go for the primaluna No regrets. I guess the best way I can put it is that I'm listening to the music and not the amp. but for the price, and my listening preferences, I don't think I could have done better.Warm, smooth sound, magical midrange and highs. Very good, clean and strong bass. Good focus. hours of pure pleasure with none problem Strongly recomended second-hand buy.

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

cary /conrad johnson

Built quality, Open sound with plenty of air. Imaging.

no

This is truly a wonderful piece of gear. If your interested in trying your first tube integrated amp without refinancing your home, Look no further. You simply won't believe that your listening to 40 watts.

Similar Products Used:

Mcintosh,

sounds terrific after tube replacement, reflecting my taste in sound
well built
reasonable price

Not impressed with the stock KT88

Recently I decided to upgrade my stereo system. I had absolutely no knowledge regarding tube integrated amps and my research left me very confused regarding the different tube types, biasing and concerns over reliability issues.

I spoke to Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio and he recommended the PrimaLuna line. I read some good reviews regarding PrimaLuna and decided to make a purchase.

I initially placed an order for the ProLogue One. But that night I reread the reviews posted on audioreview for the ProLogue Two and the next day called Upscale Audio to change my order to this model.

After receiving the unit my impressions are that I completely agree with those members reporting that the bass is somewhat boomy. It sounds to me that the bass is not well defined which causes this impression. My Paradigm Studio 40's are stronger in mid's and high's so the problem was not severe. But I suspected this unit could perform better.

I had hedged my bet with Siemens EL34 and Sylvania 12ax7 tubes. After the change (thank you PrimaLuna for adaptive auto biasing) the sound greatly improved to my taste with better balance between high, mid and bass (the bass now is defined and drums have better decay).

The unit is very well built. It has a nice clean design which I prefer over some of other manufacturer's offerings. I believe its a fair price for what you receive and I highly recommend the PrimaLuna Two.

Recently I read that PrimaLuna will introduce the ProLogue Eight cd player. It will be interesting to see if PrimaLuna can design a cd player as well as their other product lines. Based on my experience with the ProLogue Two they should have the expertise and quality control to pull it off.

Customer Service

Upscale Audio was very helpful with additional questions I had regarding the Primaluna One and Two models, well packed and shipped promptly, overall an excellent experience

sounds terrific after tube replacement, reflecting my taste in sound
well built
reasonable price

Not very impressed with the stock KT88

Recently I decided to upgrade my stereo system. I had absolutely no knowledge regarding tube integrated amps and my research left me very confused regarding the different tube types, biasing and concerns over reliability issues.

I spoke to Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio and he recommended the PrimaLuna line. I read some good reviews regarding the PrimaLuna and decided to make a purchase.

Initially I placed an order for the ProLogue One. But that night I reread the reviews posted on audioreview for the ProLogue Two and the next day called Upscale Audio changed my order to this model.

After receiving the unit my impressions are that I completely agree with those members reporting that the bass is somewhat boomy. It sounds to me that the bass is not well defined which causes this impression. My Paradigm Studio 40's are stronger in mid's and high's so the problem was not severe. But I suspected this unit could perform better.

I had hedged my bet with Siemens EL34 and Sylvania 12ax7 tubes. After the change (thank you PrimaLuna for adaptive auto biasing) the sound greatly improved to my taste with better balance between high, mid and bass (the bass now is defined and drums have better decay).

The unit is very well built. It has a nice clean design which I prefer over some of other manufacturer's offerings. I believe its a fair price for what you receive and I highly recommend the PrimaLuna Two.

Recently I read that PrimaLuna will introduce the ProLogue Eight cd player. It will be interesting to see if PrimaLuna can design a cd player as well as their other product lines. Based on my experience with the ProLogue Two they should have the expertise and quality control to pull it off.

Customer Service

Upscale Audio very helpful with additional questions I had regarding the Primaluna One and Two, well packed and shipped promptly, overall an excellent experience

Beautiful midrange, sweet top end, clean and tight base (when using the 4 ohm tap). Nice soundstaging for the price, beautifully constructed and seems to be built to last.

Not suited to loud and fast music. Soundstage could be deeper.

To start, Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio is quite helpful. In a business where many of my local dealers in the Minneapolis area are less than personable and quite snooty at times, Kevin happily took and returned my calls and really helped me make a decision on what the right Integrated amp was for me and my system. I was able to purchase more pricey amps (Pathos $2395), but he recommended I try the PrimaLuna Prologue 2 and if I hated it, he'd take it back. I took him up on the offer and have been thrilled with the result. The amp arrived and I was immediately impressed with the care taken in the packing material, triple boxed with white gloves so I wouldn't get finger prints all over my new amp while installing it. I bi-wired it to my B&W 805s standmounts thru Audioquest CV-8 cables, then to a Rega Apollo Cd Player thru Audioquest Jaguar interconnect. The amp at first was clean and crisp with a pretty shallow soundstage, however, let the amp "burn in" for 40-50 hours and it sings. The soundstage could stilll be deeper, but the tonality is wonderful, very lifelike compared to transistor based amps. Crisp highs without any brightness, a great warmth, and strong, tight bass (try the 4 ohm tap, you'll be glad you did, tighter bass control as well as a more natural sounding tonality). One big suggestion, invest in a quality power cord. I added a PS Audio Statement cable and the difference in the presentation is unbelievable, quite a bit darker background, and the sound seems better focused and more "your there" sound. This amp is a true audio bargain. It is built to last and it's also really pretty (if you like the clean vintage look), the fit and finish are damn good, especially at this price. One warning, if you like to listen to metal or rap loud, this amp is not for you, as it is not a "fast amp" (by a transistor based amp instead). However if you like Diana Krall, Dave Matthews Band, Miles Davis, Rolling Stones, John Mayer, etc. By this amp!!!

Similar Products Used:

Macintosh 275 tube amp, awesome, but 3 times the price.
Pathos integrated Mk II
NAD 400 100 watt amp

Tubes' quallity

After 8 months of use
i can say that this is a very fine amplifier.
I use it with Von Schweikert VR2 loudspeakers (87db), and i don't feel any lack of power.
My only comment is about the stinginess of the company, concerning the tubes. Those tubes that comes with the amp are basic. if you'll change to 6550eh instead of the stock kt88, and to 12ax7eh gold and 12au7eh, you'll get an amp in another level! Much more detailed, defined, tight, dynamic, natural, with a better soundstage, air, bass and highs!
Why Prima Luna don't do it for us: it'll cost them just 40-50$ more, and for us, customers, it will save a lot of futile experiences.
Prima Luna, you did a good job, why not to comlete it with decent tubes?

Smooth extended high end, gorgeous mid end and tight bottom end after some tube rolling. Is a solid performer for the price.
Everything you can ask for in a modern tube amp without sounding too tubey. It actually soounded more powerful then my previous 100W Jolida hybric tube amp.

None at the price

I just want to add-on to the comment from the previous reviewer that my amp also sounded boomy with my system initially. I change out all the stock preamp tubes immediately with Tungsol and EH with noticeable improvement on high and mid frequency, but the bass department is too boomy even I switch to 4 ohm (my speakers are norminal 6 ohm). Then I did some reserch and decided to roll the stock KT88 with Tungsol 6550 tubes and solve the problem.

Similar Products Used:

Jolida RC 1501

Good value, gorgeous midrange for the asking price, nice and clean upper frequencies, auto-bias for easy-living, gorgeous soundstage. Dynamic and gorgeous with 87db 2-way speakers and 8Ohm loads. Female voices in your room , guitars with the just perfect weight, richness and harmonic quantity. More wood, less metal on hi-hats made Primaluna a succeful choise with slightly bright speakers/components. Imaging is also very-very good for the price. Fantastic micro-dynamics, macro-dynamics better than you dreamed of.

Not the best immediancy and transparency of the category of price , hyper-emphasis on the bass region and a bass region with a slightly boring and boomy bass - regardless the numerous changes of cables , interconnects and sources. Trying to fix with silver cables ? Mayby you loose some of the magic of the mid-band. Needs very careful speaker mating.

This amplifier is simply 'nice', with many effords for the price. Of course, the amplifier is not so 'magical' like the AES Six Pacs, not looking like a million bucks prestige Jadis or does not sound so harmonically precise ,taught, immediate and resolute like a Pathos Classic One. But it combines the some boldness and richness in the mid-band of a 3K integrated amp., a simply nice, bold and clear upper region with no audiable glare or harsh, excels in operatic or jazz voices and also it has all the magic someone needs to hear a holographic jazz guitar (metal lovers or hard rockers may find their gutsy & punchy guitars a bit smoothed but of course not lean and rich in harmonics - a bit too slow and 'nice' mayby compared with f.e. a Blue Circle NSCS amp). The bad aspect of this integrated is the bass region that needs good matching to shine. With many floorstanding ported speakers of price more than 2K , I was listening to a rather boomy and bloated bass. All speakers I auditioned for a long time were 8 Ohms. I never tried 4 Ohm output with 8 Ohm speakers but this was a mistake, you must check out 4 Ohm output with your 8 Ohm speakers. This amp needs a Totem speaker or a fast-as-lighting speaker's woofer or a Cain & Cain Abby fostex driver. Also some Silver cables did the job right without representing too much of the common 'silvery' harmonic reproduction, with less wood more shine, less body more smoothing of texture, more forward less depth. Thats because Primaluna's bass region was a bit emphasized. I like to tune my bass speed, resolution, image and precision with some tunes: Enyas Watermark song, Pastorius bass, Pat Methany Bright Size Life (track 1), Diana Krall's 4 first songs of The Girl in the other room. But my Pathos Classic One simply made the most precise and fast bass of a tube/hybrid amp under 3K with my Proacs but Primaluna sound weighter and commanding the speakers with guts. Listen with your speakers before buying. Also replace those KT88 with JJs or Electro-Harmonics. Better imaging and slightly bass control.

Similar Products Used:

Many.