Harby Scheper: Last year, I decided to go and find a replacement for
my audio system. After many visits to audio stores, a tip from a colleague led
me to DÉ HifiStudio in the small village of Weerdinge, near Emmen. This is,
without any doubt, one of the finest audio stores in the region. Perhaps its
location, slightly secluded behind the main road, kept this beautiful shop
hidden from me for so long. I was served in a most friendly an expert manner by
Ferry Kremers, whose enthusiasm for the job is contagious.
The setup I bought there consisted of a pair of MC Exion speakers, a Njoe Tjoeb
4000 CD-player including the upsampler, and an Audiolab 8000S amplifier, all
connected by AH! cables. For months I was proud and satisfied with my
latest acquisitions, when the audio virus struck me and left me wanting more. I
was told that the amplifier in my setup would be the first component in need of
an update, but I had not expected it to come so fast. Saving was the magic word,
but obviously I wanted to have some notion of what exactly for. So, one
afternoon I showed up at Ferry’s store unannounced, asking him: "What am
I saving for anyway?". Before I knew it, I was standing in front of a tube
amplifier of modest proportions, gazing up and down its extremely sturdy,
simple, yet elegant appearance. I was immediately struck by its simplicity and
perfect finishing, but...tubes? Moreover, after the first few looks, another
thought crept into my head: "That’s going to take a lot of saving!".
When I was told the device was called "PrimaLuna ProLogue One" and
cost a mere 950 Euros, I had to laugh. I was definitely looking for a step up,
but my own amp had cost about the same! This could not be right. Was it a demo?
Second-hand, or made in Taiwan? In the meantime, a fine sound was filling the
listening space and I was given further explanations. I found myself unable to
really listen well. Tubes? Me? No, this is for true audiophiles, devices in the
2500-plus Euro price range. Tubes do take you well into high-end, right? I posed
a few critical questions about the ... errr, ...tubes, when finally I decided to
leave and think hard about it.
In the following days, my visit kept ringing around in my head, while the
additional information on the internet had made me even more curious. Could it
really be... Then, finally, I decided to go and listen to it a little better,
and on a Friday afternoon I found myself at DÉ HifiStudio in Weerdinge again.
The PrimaLuna had been moved to a larger listening space by then, where
man-sized speakers immediately caught my attention. A furtive glance told me
that they were speakers of over 7200 Euros, called Mahlers from the brand Vienna
Acoustics, as I found out later. Should a 950-Euro rig control these? I was
curious whether the PrimaLuna would be able to render the music with sufficient
dynamics.
After the first tones from the album "New York City", where The Peter
Malick Group accompanies singer Norah Jones, I saw her "appear before
me", as it were. I felt the movement of the air, as she breathed in my
direction, and I only had to move a few steps forward to touch her. That was
very nice, and you could also "see" where the individual musicians
were standing. The sound stage was broad, with a lot of depth. And the
PrimaLuna? Well, it was just set at ‘quarter to twelve’, as if nothing
extraordinary was happening here. After listening for a while, I was convinced
of the potential of this small amplifier. Your own ears are the best judge, aren’t
they? However, the question I kept asking myself afterwards was: "What
exactly did I hear? Was it the PrimaLuna, the fantastic speakers, or the refined
Copland CD-player?" One thing was certain though: the PrimaLuna can do a
lot. But would the magic work in my own setup as well?
After reading some more glowing reviews and selling my own Audiolab, I decided
to take the plunge and buy the PrimaLuna, without having tried it in my own
setup first. So much for "judging by your own ears", you might
conclude, and rightly so. I must admit that, at some point, I simply wanted the
thing. Partly due to its attractive price and the positive reports, I was less
critical than I should have been. As they had the amp in stock, I was back in my
living room holding a heavy box faster than expected!
Description of the amp: On its box no name or exuberant publicity, only a serial
number. What caught my eye, on the other hand, was the careful packaging, with a
pair of white cotton gloves as a special surprise, in case the tubes need to be
handled. Don’t forget to remove the foam around the tubes, though. Out of the
box, another striking thing is the absence of any name, brand, or type on the
amp itself. Nor is there any documentation or anything of the kind; there is not
a single piece of paper to be found. A bit of a shame, since you want to know
everything about your latest acquisition, but it would undoubtedly have negative
pricing consequences.
The PrimaLuna itself has a beautiful anthracite veneer and a distinguished look.
The transformers are in a cage at the back, and at the front are eight tubes,
protected by a removable grid cage. It should be noted that the transformers are
hum free, and that there is no hum or noise coming from the speakers. The tubes
used are pretty common types of Russian make. I was assured that they can be
replaced at a most reasonable price. Doing so about once every two or three
years, on average, is advisable, while it creates the opportunity to tweak.
There are four small tubes for pre-amplification and four power tubes. They get
mighty hot, and, as such, may also serve as "heating" in your living
room. Therefore , it might be wise to put the cage over the tubes if you have
small children, though the amp loses much of its beauty then. On the sturdy
aluminum front there are only two buttons: one for volume control, the other for
audio source selection. They are separated by a small green led, that lights up
when the power button on the left side is pushed. So much for controls. The
PrimaLuna has four line inputs, but no tape out and no remote control either. A
phono stage also needs to be purchased separately. For the speakers, there is a
choice between a 4- or 8-Ohms connection. A power cord is included, but might be
replaced by a more exotic specimen, if you wish. Note that the PrimaLuna is
wired without signal-carrying prints. Only quality cables are used, though I
must admit that I haven’t checked this. Its dimensions of 38x27x20 centimeters
and weight of 15 kilograms are very modest for a tube amp, and so is its output
power of 35 Watts at 8 Ohms. So, it has its clear limitations as far as control
options and connectability are concerned. However, I don’t consider them
limitations. On the contrary, to me that’s the charm of a truly audiophile
device; as little fuss as possible, and investments where they really matter.
Listening to the PrimaLuna: After connecting the necessary cables and quite a
few hours of warming up, it was time to start spoiling the ears. On the day of
my purchase, coming home from late at night, I could no longer resist
temptation: I just had to listen for a little while, even though I was aware
that the amplifier needed a burn-in period of at least fifty hours, only six of
which had passed.
I slid the CD Just Like You by Keb Mo’ into the Tjoeb and lowered myself into
the sweet spot of my chair, after cranking up the volume of the PrimaLuna to
almost ‘twenty to twelve’. It was already late and I didn’t want to wake
anybody. Yet, the first thing I noticed was the volume: much louder than I had
expected! The sound stage was different from what I was used to, as well, and
Keb Mo’s voice sounded beautifully. Nevertheless, the highs still sounded a
bit restrained to me, though the overall sound was warm and full-bodied. This
was going to be alright. When I went to bed, a broad grin must have covered my
face ..
In the following days, it was mostly the radio that kept the PrimaLuna warm, and
I didn’t do any real listening. When I sat down to it in the weekend, the
teenagers in my family immediately shoved the new album by the Canadian band
Nickelback in my face. ‘Could this thing play loud?’, they wanted to know.
Though I occasionally enjoy loud, it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind then.
With a sigh, I left the CD to the cares of my Tjoeb and put the volume at ‘ten
to twelve’. At the first sounds I jolted, as the music was deafening, even
though, at 40 m2, my living room isn’t exactly small. Cupboards and all kinds
of other stuff started resonating, as I was listening to a wall of sound, barely
able to make myself audible. After the kids left for their own room, fully
convinced (‘wicked’, ‘cool’ etcetera), I listened to several CDs, be it
at a lower volume.
Patricia Kaas’ live rendition of the song Mademoiselle Chante Le Blues on the
album Rien ne s’arrête gives me the shivers, captivating in its totality.
Jennifer Warnes’ voice sounds fantastic as well. In Joan Of Ark from the album
Famous Blue Raincoat, which she sings together with Leonard Cohen, it is as if
she is in front of me in the room. Gidon Kremer’s violin on the album Hommage
à Piazolla sharply contrasts with the stirring sounds from the other
instruments, which are easy to trace as well. The bandoneon sounds especially
gorgeous, while the clarinetist in the song Vardarito can clearly be heard
breathing.
In Like a Hurricane, on Neil Young’s Unplugged album, the organ is suddenly
massively present in the room. The entire album gives me a sense of presence and
now and then I hear a well-defined crowd.
Simeon ten Holt’s Canto Ostinato is rendered with abandon by Kees Wieringa and
Polo de Haas on two grand piano’s. A true surprise is Taede van der Veen’s
acoustic guitar on the album Vreulevijver. In the song Robin Hood, accompanied
by Esther Kloostra on the transverse flute, the tones burst from the strings,
almost making me feel as if I’m at a live performance. Stef Bos’ voice
sounds powerful as well in the song Nachtwaker, and it’s nicely in the center,
between the speakers. Joan Osborne is quite an artist as well. The song St.
Teresa from the album Relish has power and impact. Not much later, Thomas Otten’s
head voice is ringing through the room. Backed by powerful rhythmics, he
succeeds in evoking a very special atmosphere on his album Close to Silence. The
strings of the Combattimento Consort convince fully as well, sounding both
full-bodied and gentle, but never harsh. Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto di
Amsterdam is rendered especially festively and spectacularly. Dynamics all over,
along with power and space. Finally, I listened to Jimmy Thackery’s blues rock
from his album Drive To Survive. Again the PrimaLuna succeeds in carrying me
away, as the drums seem to have extra skins and the guitars different strings.
Also in the days after, I listened to many different CDs. For ample volume, the
volume control need never be set beyond quarter to twelve. I always get a sense
of working with a much bigger amplifier. My MCs, at an efficiency of 90 dB 1
Watt/1 meter and an impedance of 4 Ohms, are controlled effortlessly, and even
when things get a little louder, the amp is never out of breath. Everything
plays very naturally. What strikes me particularly is how the PrimaLuna is able
to capture the right atmosphere for vastly different kinds of music. No matter
what genre I listen to, the corresponding sound is always delivered aptly and in
a captivating manner, sometimes almost holographic. Compared to the Audiolab,
detail is better as well. I’m rediscovering my Cd collection, as it were. And
the magic? Frankly, I must admit that the expressiveness of my MCs cannot be
compared to that of speakers five times the price. Still, I am most impressed
with the results.
This is my first experience with tube amplifiers, and I must say that they force
me to listen differently. The Audiolab that once stood where the PrimaLuna
stands now does not lend itself to a comparison, because the musical image it
creates is very different. If desired, the PrimaLuna delivers the music with
much more dynamics and power, though its actual output power is considerably
lower. Also, the sound stage I am listening to stretches beyond the speakers
both in breadth and depth, and the individual instruments are easy to trace.
Moreover, the PrimaLuna offers more detailed highs, while playing gently and
airily. With critical instruments like violins there is never any harshness or
loudness. The lows are detailed as well, yet never pushy. The lowest tones do
occasionally sound a bit woolly when things get a bit rough, but that may also
be due to my speakers. This is my only criticism, but it should be noted that,
at higher volumes, I run into the acoustic limitations, not so much of the
PrimaLuna, as of my own living room. Apart from that, the music is delivered the
way it should be, very musically and without a trace of discomfort. Sometimes
the musicians seem to be playing in my own living room. Listening has become an
adventure again and has an almost therapeutic effect on the mind. Especially
voices, delivered naturally and with air, sometimes give me the shivers. Again
and again, this amplifier knows how to grab me, hold my attention and keep me
anxious.
The tubes, which I was initially skeptical about, undoubtedly play a big part
here. There is something magical about them. Though they have less power than
transistors, they sound as transparent as glass, more dynamic and louder, and
they keep me more involved with the performing artist. Besides, they are
something special when it comes to design, as the looks match the quality. And
at night, the mysteriously glowing tubes create that extra special atmosphere in
your room, which never hurts.