Greetings from NYC

[HarshaDS]

Hello gents,
Just a brief introduction of myself, I'm currently living in Manhattan and I came across your forum because I was doing some research for a DAC to fit into my system. I'm just moving very cautiously into ripping all my CD's to FLAC files so I can have all my music on a server.

At the moment I'm running a PrimaLuna Dialogue 2 with a NOS Mullard front end (CV4004 and CV4003's) and Gold Lion KT88's on the back powering Zu Essence speakers. I am happily running an Oppo BDP 83SE as my digital source but realized that most of the CD's were being overlooked due to them not being immediately accessible.

Please be gentle with my inquiries, I am a neophyte and my questions are more basic than most due to my utter lack of knowledge in the dark arts of Higher Fidelity.

Harsha

[julesd68]

Welcome to AOS! :)

A friend of mine is thinking about buying a PrimaLuna for his first tube amp and am wondering if you can recommend them in terms of sound and build quality?

cheers.

[realysm42]

Welcome Harsha.

You've joined this forum on the same search I initiated a while ago, about dacs.

Don't worry about asking questions here, the community's both friendly and knowledgeable!

[HarshaDS]

Thank you gents for the welcome; Martin I did a 96 page read through about the Beresford Bushmaster...I was about to pull the trigger on the Schiit BiFrost or DacMagic 100 but there is something about the Bushmaster that is intriguing to me.

Julian the primaLuna for me was an easy buy firstly because I wanted to get into tubes for a while (I remember my father making these wonderful glowing music machines as hobby when I was very very young). And my wife actually said she loved the warm presentation of jazz vocals and classical music when we casually wondered into a little shop in Manhattan called 'In Living Stereo' (I am willing to admit there was weeks of planning and preparation involved in that casual walk past the shop..but I digress). The build quality is excellent and when I was auditioning them initially they were outputting through some Dynaudio Focus 140s. The quality of sound is dependent on your choice of tubes, though I think one should really factor in the cost of replacing the front end and power tubes to dial it in perfectly for your speaker choice in the future. To me the auto-biasing feature and the ability to roll tubes makes it relatively foolproof. Forgive me, I think I've started to ramble...so yes I think it is a great first integrated tube amp. It has the scope to allow someone to get a feel for the texture and coloration that this sort of amplification can bring to the table.

Harsha

[julesd68]

Excellent - sounds like he can't really go wrong with a Prima Luna ...

What tubes are you running with it?

[HarshaDS]

At the moment I've got NOS Mullard front end (CV4004 and CV4003's) and current production Gold Lion KT88's on the back. I've also got a matched quad of Black Sable (Winged C) SED EL34s which I love for the air and staging they give, but I think is missing the weight at the bottom end. The Gold Lion KT88s should give me the bottom end but they are still being burnt in. Rolling tubes is rather fun and to me at least is quite rewarding considering that a change in either front or back end of the tubes gives you a different sound signature to the amplifier.

[realysm42]

Tubes will be the next step for me too; I blame this place.

I actually had a dream last night I spent 23k on a Tron amp lol!

Do you find tubes need to be replaced regularly? Also, is there a central place to answer all questions as it sounds like there's a heck of a lot to learn about them...

[HarshaDS]

Hi Martin,

Don't feel too bad about it... I think they put something in the water in this place. You learn, you lust, you succumb, you purchase,you convince yourself you are happy with life and you will purchase only music from now on as your system sounds as good as you will ever want it to ....and then you see a magazine or website or talk to a friend that mentions some new thing you just got to listen to...because it makes everything sound better...and it does.
So you gingerly research the new thingamajig and learn.... :eek: :doh: :doh: :doh::brickwall::brickwall::brickwall:

Sorry, I just realized that I shouldn't complain when my wife wants new shoes or handbags.

The greatest misconception I think is that tubes are delicate or so fragile that they need to be replaced regularly. Bad design (amplifier circuit design) and the mishandling or proper procedural respect for your valve gear can mean you blow valves but to be honest it really shouldn't be an ever looming concern. Let me clarify bad design; if a valve amplifier is over-driven to produce a high output constantly and turned on and off ...

Sorry I'm blathering again....long story short... As long as you are aware of how to treat your equipment and there are enough built in idiot-proof features as in my amplifier (Pre-heat,Soft start,auto biasing) then it isn't as daunting a prospect. Treat them well and they can last you years...

[Alex_UK]

Welcome from me too Harsha, hope you enjoy AoS. :)

[HarshaDS]

Hi Alex,
Thanks for the welcome, I'm already enjoying this great community and the insight they have into such vastly diverse audio equipment. I'm going to trouble you all from time to time with unbelievably stupid questions...please forgive me....as the saying goes ...."I know not what I do". :mental:

Harsha:D