Price, reliability, ease of use and above all else sound quality.

Not a single hiccup yet.

This is a follow up to my original reviewof the Prologue II. I still think it's the best integrated tube amp under $3000. I also still prefer my system currently a Prologue 5 and Rogue 66 Magnum, along with Monitor Audio S6's, to flea powered SET's with big horn loaded speakers. I still think the whole Prima Luna Line is the best built , best looking and most importantly best sounding/ best value, being offered by anyone. I'm really glad Kevin and Hermann picked up this chassis and has taken it to it's current status at the pinnacle of affordably priced , extraordinarily performing tube gear available anywhere. It has no real competition at it's price point. For once I am forgetting about the gear and the associated maintenance with tube gear and simply enjoying the music.

Customer Service

Outstanding on my Prologue II purchase.

Similar Products Used:

Jolida , ASL, Cayin TA30 Modded version, AE25 superamp both standard and Signature

see previous comments

see previous comments

Follow up to my first April 6, 2006 review of the Prima Luna Prologue 2. Well after about 170+ hours of break in time, things are still good and getting better, but I am still experiencing a little bass boom with the new MG 12’s, which only happens on certain “techno / new age type cd’s, but did not happen on my old Magnepan 3.6’s & more costly tube integrated amp. In conclusion, I found that the MG 12’s are having a hard time interacting with my current room environment and confident that this slight problem will be eliminated when I move to my new smaller space, which the MG 12’s were purchased for.

However to see if this slight bass boom was due to the Prologue 2, I called Kevin @ Upscale Audio asking if I could try the Musical Fidelity 3.5 (rated class B by Stereophile – same as the Prologue 2). The Musical Fidelity 3.5 provides 150 Wpc into 8 ohms and 240Wpc into 4 ohms, and has a very high current rating as well, (the MG 12’s are 4 ohms, 86dB/500Hz /2.83v and like high power and high current). With this in mind, I felt that the Musical fidelity 3.5 might provide better grip in the bass department for the MG 12’s. Kevin, said take one home and try it out, I did.

Well, in my opinion (please no emails, you be the judge and compare for yourself for we all have different ears, needs etc.) there was no comparison between the Prologue 2 (40 Wpc tube power) and the Musical Fidelity 3.5. I found that the Prologue 2 out performed (that’s mildly stating it) the Musical Fidelity in every area. More importantly, the Prologue 2 had a better defined and tighter bass than the Musical Fidelity 3.5! In short, the Prologue 2 is in an entirely different league than the Musical Fidelity 3.5 (at least on my system anyway). Also, I found, but did not mention in my previous review that the Prologue 2 sounds equally good at both very low and high listening levels, whereas the Musical Fidelity 3.5 needed to be at a certain “mid” volume setting to sound its best.

In closing, keep in mind that I did not try other manufactures products within the +/-$1,500 price range, only the MF 3.5. As one knows, there are many other fine offerings out there such as Brinkman, Creek, Unison Research, Sugden, Primare, Krell, Pathos to name a few (I considered the Pathos Classic one Mark II (more money), but found through research that it had difficulty with loads less that 5ohms, which won’t work with the Magnepans). Also, at this time I can’t compare and listen to all of the above mentioned offerings, which could have possible proved better than the Prologue 2. However, I am confident that the Prologue 2 is the right choice for “me”, confirmed by the above A/B comparison and that the Prologue 2 is one of the few if any, in this price range anyway, virtually hand made units with point to point wiring (it does make a difference) and it has “similar” sonic qualities to that of my old integrated amp, which at this time is perfect for my listening needs. Anyway, enough of my bantering, chapter closed and enjoy your search.

Customer Service

Very Good!

Similar Products Used:

see previous comments

small - great sounding - auto biasing

no remote control

Moving to a smaller, but fortunately nicer condo forced me to sell my BIG Magneplanar 3.6’s. At that time I decided to also sell my “well respected” $6K+ integrated amp and replace it with a new Prima Luna Prologue 2 @ $1,445(purchased from Kevin at Upscale Audio – great people) and a pair of Magneplanar MG 12’s @ $1,095 (purchased from Stan at Shelly’s Stereo – more great people) with the remaining money to used to redecorate the new place – not bad.

Anyway, the Prima Luna Prologue 2 is a small integrated tube amp that has auto biasing. To my eyes it is a little toy like in stature, but very purposeful looking and has that pride of ownership / I take my audio equipment serious thing going on for it. It has “excellent fit and finish”, so much so that I feel that it has a sort of a mass produced look to it compared to more costly amps (not a bad thing, just an observation on my part). I find that the controls of the Prologue 2 have a wonderful touch and feel to them and I really like the not so bright key lime pie color power-on light as well, in short I like its looks, ease of use and ergonomics!

As for the Prologue 2’s sound and performance, it’s basically everything that the magazines and reviewers have said about it, it’s good! However, in comparing it to my old integrated amp, well it doesn’t, not in a bad way mind you, but to make an analogy, it’s like going from a “5 series BMW to a “3 series BMW” kind of experience. The most notable difference I’ve had to adjust to is not having the ribbon tweeters of the 3.6’s, which has nothing to do with the Prologue 2. Even if you don’t like Magneplanar’s, their ribbon tweeter is known by many as being one of the finest around, and I wish that they would make a special edition MG12 or 1.6 version using it. However, I find that the Prologue 2 drives these fairly inefficient Magneplanar’s with great authority, and actually makes for a great synergistic match-up.

With 20 years experience in this hobby (which, does not make me an expect or an authority) I feel that if you are looking for a “very good” 40 watt integrated tube amplifier give the Prologue 2 a listen (one persons opinion anyway). Is it the ultimate in sonic reproduction and refinement? NO. Does it compare to Amps costing $5K, $7K, $10K+, NO, but in the same breath kind of YES. More importantly, I find that after hours of listening to it, it still has that I-want-to-keep-listening-to-it-some-more-quality, and an overall rightness to it, which is hard to find at any price. Also, as a previous reviewer stated in this forum, the Prologue is FUN, which may sound corny and non audiophile, but he is right and I know what he saying. Because of its fit and finish, internal workmanship, and more importantly – its sound, makes the Prologue 2 a very, very good integrated amp.

If, there is downside to the Prologue 2 (assembled in China) is that it can be dismissed as being second rate by certain audiophiles (such is the case with a my friend of mine), who just looked at, listened to it a bit, shrugged his shoulders and said he prefer to purchase only American/European brands. I can relate to what he is saying coming from a snooty audiophile background myself. Because of this perception by some (there loss), some may find that to own a Prologue 2 may take a bit of backbone or and attitude of I don’t care what other people may think, but I think that if you purchase one, you will find that it will be worth it!

In closing, I see myself keeping the Prologue 2 for along time to come (its that satisfying to my ears), but in the same breath, when the dust settles in my new place, I can also see myself eventually upgrading to a more costly integrated amp. However, at about 75% less the cost of my old amp/speaker combo, this new system has not left me feeling cheated or deprived, or having that horrible feeling of as-soon-as-I get-some-extra-money, I am going to replace this thing A.S.A.P. In fact, in a different way I enjoy this new replacement system as much as my old one. So there you have it, thank you and good night.

Customer Service

ELNT

Similar Products Used:

Arcam, Linn, Musical Fidelity, McIntosh, VAC

Big soundstage, smooth, 3-D presentation, glorius midrange, mid and low bass. The best amp ever for keeping up with complicated musical passages. Fantastic for listening to acoustical and string instruments. The best amp for classical music - period!

Possibly a smidge soft on the top end frequencies - mostly a positive quality, except for detail resolution.

This amplifier is the PERFECT tube amp for solid state audio nerds like me to get into. If there ever was a no hassle, no fuss tube amp that could get my attention, the Primaluna Prologue 2 was it! It literally is a "plug and go" amplifier - a music lovers dream, for enthusiasts who hate to fuss with the problems that can come with tubes. As an aside, Upscale audio does extensive testing of the tubes they sell and I have always received great tubes in the past for my tube CD player.

Somehow, I was so curous regarding the Primaluna, that I sold my prized Plinius 9100 and Totem Hawks to dive head first into tubes - with no prior experience in the tube domain, mind you! My wife thought I was nuts; that I finally lost it. For a second, I was thinking the same way. My solid state Plinius -Totem combo was incredibly good, so good, in fact, that I couldn't believe how real instruments across the frequency spectrum sounded - from cymbals to piano to guitar, drums, bass and even voices, were spot on - perfect enough to live with for the rest of my life. So, I bought the Primaluna......

The Primaluna arrived at my doorstep in 3 days and I was shocked at how good the build quality is! I feel like it was built by Mercedes or BMW - it is a looker in person - pictures don't even come close to doing it justice!

Just after startup, I took a listen. BE PREPARED for the amp needing, as all great machines and instruments need, a while to break in and open up. At first, there was a distracting and somewhat irritating distortion when listening to music. Don't worry, this will pass after about 25 hours of play. Now, well after 100 hours of play, this amplifier is spectacularly musical, smooth, dynamic and transparent with a degree of resolution that has to be heard to be believed! You know you have a great amp when family and friends notice the great sound of this $1345.00 amplifier.... when your previous multiple $5000.00 to $10,000 set ups never seemed to impress....even though they were great synergistic solid state pieces.

Sonically, the Prologue 2 projects a BIG soundstage with a soothing, lush, harmonic presentation that will pull the listener in with a death grip! It has superb detail for a tube amp, a gorgeous midrange, but the shocker was how GREAT bass sounds. One of the greatest things with this little 40 watt integrated tube wonder is that you can listen to the old jazz trio greats play and HEAR the bass without turning the volume WAY UP to hear it, like you have to with solid state amplification. My only gripe with my Plinius and all other solid state amps was that I needed a remote volume control to turn the amp down on loud passages, due to the reproduction of the wide dynamic range.. Not so with the Prologue 2. No remote needed! It is just like the old days, listening to vinyl LP"s. In a way, you just set the volume and forget it, except for extremely loud crescendos.

So, is there a weakness, you might ask? Possibly. The only thing I notice, is I do miss the spectacular cymbal timbre and detail of the Plinius integrated, but I suspect that it is also part and parcel, due to the soft dome tweeters of my Totem Sttaf speakers versus the high quality metal dome tweeter of the Totem Hawks. There is detail, it is just a smidge softened at the very top. One positive byproduct of this effect is that CD's with very high energy that are too much with solid state are reproduced in a way that is much more pleasant to my ears.

Another SUPERB asset of the Prologue 2 is that you can easily pick out each instrument and voice, yet, somehow, you also hear the whole of the soundstage presentation with seamless presentation. The more complicated the musical passage, the easier the amp seemed to handle it! You have to hear great 3 part harmony to understand just how special this amplifier really is. Add to this the 3-D presentation of the Prologue and you have a winner of an amplifier. My $1600.00 Totem Sttafs totally disappear in my listening room! Impressive!!!

Trust me, just buy this amp, it's a lot of fun! I can change tubes or, better yet, change loudspeakers and get another marvelous sounding, yet different presentation. For fun, I like to hook up my 12 year old B&W 220's that retailed for about $300. They sound great with the Prologue. Need I say more? Us old audio guys shouldn't be allowed to have this much fun! Bravo Primaluna - and thanks to Kevin Deal of Upscale Audio for bringing this product to market in the USA.

Associated equipment:

Prologue 2 40 watt intergated amplifier
Totem Sttaf Loudspeakers
Ah! Supertjoeb 4000 tube CD player
Signalcable 10 gauge copper biwired speaker cable
Signalcable Silver Resolution, solid silver interconnects with silver Bullet Plugs
Analysis Plus copper spades at amp end
Analysis Plus copper Banana plugs, biwired at speaker end
Signalcable 10 gauge AC power cord

Customer Service

Kevin Deal and Upscale Audio is THE BEST for tubes and trend setting new and exciting pieces of gear.

Similar Products Used:

None tube. Solid state: Halfer, McIntosh, Threshold, Aragon, Plinius.

Giant Killer!!!!! Speed Transparency Dynamic Treble Midrange to die for!!!! Bass Power Tube selection(KT88,6550,KT66,6l6,El34,or KT90) Glowing glass, what more can I say?????????

Addictive Requires careful selection of matching componets,cables,etc No preamp out

I brought this amp as a jump into an all tube design. After trying solid state and tube hybrid, I decided I would make that jump. I did and haven't looked back since. I purchased this amp from Kevin Deal at upscale audio. The service is excellent and I even received the amp a few days early! I opened the package which was boxed THREE times!!!!(nice touch). In the final box was a pair of white gloves,the amp,the power cord and spare fuses. I must say that pictures do NOT do this amp justice! The hand polish blue/black finish gives this amp a look of something ten times its price!!!! The amp weighs a hefty 30lbs and you feel all 30lbs! Now, on to the sound. The sound is full,lush, yet transparent from top to bottom. The soundstage is huge and fills the room with pinpoint imaging and massive soundstage.The amp is also very dynamic and its ability to resolve complex material has to heard to be believed. This amp makes you want to curl up with your significant other and call it a day. This amp would most likely satisfy the first time tube owner or anyone who appreciates a clean presentation of music in the way it was intended by the artist. Five stars;nice job PrimaLuna! P.S. Get your hands on one as soon as possible from Kevin(He is the Man!!!) at Upscale Audio;word out is that prices are going up next year!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

McIntosh 5100(Solid State,good also), Jolida 1701 hybrid integr.,Denon receiver

-Huge 3D soundstage -Pin-point positioning of voices and instruments -Natural timbres to voices and instruments -Never ever harsh (great way to soften analytical sources without loosing detail)

-Fast and deep bass can be a bit loose and unfocused

This is truely an amazing amp. About a year ago I bought a Denon 1500R amp at HIFI-klubben in Sweden. Nothing wrong with it - rythmically nice and all that. But I've always felt it didn't really do justice to my speakers (B&W CM4...by the way I have an atoll cd100 as source). So for a year now I've casually been listening to amps in different stores in Uppsala and Stockholm, among others Musical Fidelity x-150, Arcam AV90, Atoll I200. All these are nice amps in their own way but for me they really don't compete with the Primaluna (the closest would have to be the Advantage Thor, but that's outrageously more expensive). However the Primaluna might not be to everyone's taste - it has to be appreciated for its strengths: 1) An absolutely huge 3D soundstage...it really expands way back and up as well as to the sides. 2) Pin-point positioning of instruments and artists 3) Very natural timbre to instruments and voices - almost unnerving with soul and jazzmusic 4) A very detailed yet silky-smooth sound (seems to be typical of tube-amps...I just love it). Due to its particular strengths this is an amp that does an amazing job with jazz, soul, classical music...really any kind of music with amazing voices and natural instruments. On the other hand quick and deep bass is not the main strenght of the amp - deep bass can be a bit unfocused. I think those who prefer hip-hop and electronica might be better of with another amp.

Similar Products Used:

Musical fidelity x-150, Advantage Thor, Arcam AV90, Atoll I200.

Price Quality of construction Sound: respect of timbre, image, warmth, dynamic, linearity Autobias adjustment: no need to be an electronic engineer to enter and enjoy the realm of tubes Classy look

No remote control No possibility to separate preamp and amp sections

I use the Prologue 2 to drive the electrostatic panels of my Martin Logan Ascent I. I use a Rotel RB 1070 amp to drive the 10'' woofers of the Ascent. I had not had the opportunity to listen to the Prologue 2 hooked to the Ascents before I purchased it so I was a little worried about how it would sound once hooked to the Ascents, knowing the reputation of these speakers for their low impedance and low sensitivity. Before I talk about how the Prologue 2 sounds on the Ascents, I'd like to talk about the quality of construction of the amp. The first thing that impressed me is the weight of the amp when I unpacked it. Then the point-to-point wiring inside looks state of the art. You can see it at the dealer store where they exhibit a Prima Luna upside down with the bottom cover removed. Don't do it at home though, or make sure that your amp is not plugged to the power outlet before you do that. Talking about look, the body of the amp has a classy shiny dark blue color and you can choose between a silver or black front panel. Both are very classy. Overall, the amp looks more like a $4000 tube amp. Talking technique the amp is based on a push pull of KT88 tubes and uses Solen caps. The power is stated at 40w per channel. The back panel offers the choice between 8-ohm and 4-ohm outputs to your speakers. I use the 4-ohm ones for the Martin Logan. The amp has an autobias adjustment feature inside, which prevents from having to use matched tubes or to pass an electronic engineering degree before you can use your amp. Just plug the amp, switch the power control on, allow about 10 seconds for the tubes to warm up, that's it. The amp comes with a cage to protect the tubes but I can't resist removing the cage and enjoying the smooth glow of the tubes every time I listen to music. Listening to music… here we go. In one word the amp sounds fantastic on the Martin Logan. What I immediately noticed after the first listening is how real the instruments sound. On La Danse Macabre by Camille Saint Saens, the solo violin sounds just like a violin. You’re like you can really feel the wood and the varnish of the instrument. Same with piano. On Ellis and Branford Marsalis’ Loved Ones, a great recording, you close your eyes and you have a piano in front of you that you feel you could touch. Let's talk image. On Diana Krall’s Love Scenes, you can really spot the singer and the instruments. The music is not just in front of you. At the first notes you enter a 3d world with the impression that you’re listening to musicians on a stage. Diana Krall’s voice sounds warm and direct as if she was singing in your room without any microphone. One of my favorite album is the Yellow Jacket’s Live Wires. Track #9 is a great recording of percussions like drums and cymbals of various sides. The cymbals can sound a little too aggressive on some systems. With the Prologue 2 hooked to the Ascents, you get the dynamism of the cymbals without the aggressiveness. This is really one of the aspects that I like the most with the Prima Luna. Listening never leads to fatigue. I usually listen at low volume. However when I pump up the volume the Prologue continues to do amazingly. You don't loose details, image or warmth. Everything stays the same just louder. On Foreplay, an album that I like to listen at higher volume than usual, the music continues to flow perfectly when I turn the volume control to the right. Overall I find the Prologue 2 hooked to the Ascents a great match. The speed of the electrostatic panels is well balanced with the warmth of the tubes. For the low range, I use a Rotel solid-state power amp but to be honest, the Prologue used in a mono-amp configuration driving both the electrostatic panels and the woofers sounds very good too. I just found the Ascents a little bit bass shy so I decided to give some punch to the woofer by adding a solid-state amp but honestly that is not that necessary. So, no absolute need to bi amp. The Prologue 2 will do remarkably on its own. In conclusion we should always trust our ears more than the technique. Driving Ascents with tubes may sound like the last thing to do. Too low impedance, too low sensitivity to hook a tube amp to. Who cares. The Prologue 2 hooked to the Ascents sounds fantastic and restitute the music with a great realism. Sometimes, I wonder who does the best job in my system. The Prima Luna or the Ascents. I just think both the speakers and the tube amp complement perfectly each other. No need to say that the Martin Logan are great speakers that provide a great realism and image. The Prima Luna Prologue 2 enhances the realism and the image by bringing more warmth and details. It is just a fantastic match. So just trust your ears and enjoy the music.

Power, glory, liquid, bold midrange , nice treble. Not at all bright. Huge, fantastic soundstage. Charming voices. Detail. Need more ? For this price...!

Beefy, bold bass. But almost any full-tube equipment have the same problematic bass regions in a way or another. Try hybrid if you won't. Or try Pathos Accoustics. Not the top class immediancy.

At first, this is the most affortable true high-end product with charm and clarity far away of the price standards. Let it run-in about 140 hours, play your favourite classical, opera, rock (yes, rock. even metal) or small-scale acoustic music and you will not believe that you are getting this results comparing the price. Two really major improvements I did was: a. Changing the power cord to Cardas Golden Reference (step up both in bass and whole performance) and b. Changing the KT88 to ELECTROHARMONIX for better resolution and control, and pre-amp tubes to JJ-Tesla. I found the logical difference I expected. And believe me, worth the extra money. If I must say something negative (as serious reviewers do, heh) its that the bass is over-emphasized and somewhat bloomy, overly bold , even with all-Nordost expensive cables. So don't try interconnects that are rather slow and fat on the bass regions. The bass is rather opposite of Musical Fidelity X-150 similar category priced amp. But its weighty-boldy-beefy and slow compared with solid-states, but with good cabling/conditioner etc. will be a step up (or half step up to be more precise) and pleasure with rock, not so confusing. Give a listen, combine with easy-loads and up to 86db 8ohm 2 way speakers (!) like my lovely Proacs. Its more gutsy and dynamic than most even solid-stated, with the jaw-breaking mids of KT88 , detailed and sharp enough for any class. ..And listen to White Stripes new CD and Beethoven symphonies again.... Fat, clean , bold, liquid.

Build Fit and Finish, real point to point wiring. 5 coats of hand rubbed finish. Looks fabulous , tube cage included if you have curious pets or kids. It looks better uncovered.

None.

Build quality is extaordinary, built more like a Cary product than an inexpensive amp. Adaptive Auto Biasing works like a dream, plate fuse means no trip to the repair shop or downtime if a tube fails. Sound with my Cambridge audio D500 Special Edition CD player and Monitor Audio RS1 Silver speakers is amazing. I like it better than a system I recently heard featuring an Audio Note 8 watt Single Ended amp with a flatfish CD transport and Avant Garde Duo speakers. My little $2,200 sytem sounded better to my ears than a $40,000 plus audiophile rig!If you're looking to get into tubes this amp is the one nothing else comes close without spending a lot more, but you don't need to. This little integrated will embaress many more expensive amps! Get off the fence and call Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio at $1345 you will enjoy music like never before. If you don't agree return it, but trust me you won't want to. If you like EL34 tubes over KT88's you can buy the PrologueI at $1095 and save $250. I reccomend the PrologueII it will play EL34's as well as 6550's or KT90's etc.

Similar Products Used:

Jolida, Antique Sound Labs.

Blows away my previous AVC valve amp, you get a lot for your money here (a true giant killer...especially for only £999).

It's SO revealing (without being harsh/splashy) that badly mastered CD's sound just like that...badly mastered

Firstly: AVSOLUTELY AMAZING. My previous amp was an Affordable Valve Company EL34 Silver integrated. This amp betters it in every way. Whereas before I had a good soundstage, little height, even less depth (which made the vocals, even though clear, sometimes "muddy" and blended with the music in comparison), this Prologue two seems to seperate everything beautifully. It does this by giving me depth, and added height to my music....which along with the great width results in a very 3D like listening experience. For instance, I can now hear, say, a violin in the same place as the singers voice...... but located about 1/2 foot Behind them. The extra detail lifted from my CD's is amazing (I have a whole new CD collection now :-) ) Front end is a naim CD5i (din-phono Chord Co Chameleon Silver Plus) to the Prologue2, then to Quad 12L speakers via Chord Co carnival spkr wire. I thought maybe I'd lose some of the Pace Rythm n Timing from the naim, but nope, this amp not only keeps up, it's able to express all the details uncovered by the CD...a real "foot tapper". Having said all that, the system never sounds too harsh....it's still definitely a sweet smooth valve amp......but now gives me some Solid state grunt and control as well. Everything else has been mentioned below...definitely one of the best amps around.

Similar Products Used:

Affordable Valve Company EL34 valve amp. Musical Fidelity solid state X-series