Back in 2016 I decided to buy a secondhand Prima Luna Prologue 3 preamp to use with my then Samson Servo 600 studio power amp and my then Kef Q500 loudspeakers. Unfortunately I can't remember the previous pre I was using but connecting up the Prologue was astounding. The stereo imaging was immense and hugely spacious. Great, that's me sorted then. Nah...
In November-ish 2016 I bought a Prima Luna Dialogue Premium power amp. EL34 powered at around 36/40 Watts per channel compared to the Samson at 225 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms. How did it hit me..? Quite hard as the damn thing weighs 30kg. Sound wise the biggest initial difference was the treble which was now sharp, incisive and crystal clear. Other differences..? Not many really. The Samson provided a huge stereo sound stage especially on the Q Sound Roger Waters' album Amused to Death which put the dog bark right where it should be. Seriously good for a 400 quid power amp. The Dialogue though was a slight let down in comparison. It just wasn't as precise stereo wise.
So, last year (2018) I re-valved the preamp with JJ valves including both rectifiers which produced a huge improvement over the original valves that it came with. Amazing vocal authenticity and realism. I then re-valved the power valves with JJ EL34's and again a massive improvement over the stock items. Even greater realism of vocals and guitar especially hollow bodied ES339 style guitars. Beverley Knight and her musicians have never sounded this good on any previous system of mine.
So, would I go back to the Samson..? No, as there would be no point. I have the Prima Luna so what would be the point. Is the Prima Luna good value for money..? No, not in my experience. Is it massively different to the Samson..? Yes but in a very covert way. Midrange purity and realism is everything you could expect from valves especially into my mini Spendors and with the addition of my Yamaha sub woofer the bass is firm, dynamic and solid.
Am I happy with this system..? What is happy..? It is currently the best system I have ever owned since getting hooked in 1979. As with a lot of systems though it suits a particular type of music more than others. If I truly wanted my electronic music to sound as it should I would need nothing short of a PA system but for 'real' music with 'real' musical instruments it is bloody good.
Are you thinking about buying a valve based system..? Good for you. Just take care with your decision making.