Post by Bigman80 on Aug 28, 2020 12:20:41 GMT
Intro:
Many years ago, I was loaned a very low powered Valve amplifier. It was a bit of Chi-Fi which had been fettled and improved by a good friend of mine. I have never heard an amplifier sound as sweet or fluid through the treble and midrange. It started a long lasting affection for glowing glass bottles.
As my journey through equipment and experimental setups raged on, only one thing remained constant. There was always something using a valve in my system. Generally it was the phonostage.
This journey kind of ended in the purchase of a Neurochrome 686. It was everything I wanted from an amplifier.....so why do I still spend a few ours a week looking at valve amplifiers? Is it the look? The sound?
It was time to find out.
I have been frequenting the homes of a few “High Level” audiophiles recently, and the one thing that they all had in common was the fact they were using digital (no vinyl) into rather tasty looking valve amps.
The itch started. And an itch not scratched, itches for a long time.
I decided I would revisit valve amplification and pair it up to my PecanPi DAC. All o needed was a valve amp! Many candidates crossed my web browser, but one name that constantly popped up as extremely good value for money, was PrimaLuna.
I did a little research and found a few online videos and felt that the glowing reviews from Upscale Audio seemed like genuine enthusiasm, rather than sales spiel. I could be wrong, and this guy is the best salesman I have seen.
After a 2 minute search, I found the PrimaLuna Prologue FIVE for sale and bought it.
About The Amplifier:
From the manual:
This PrimaLuna ProLogue power amp features:
• Hand-made construction with the finest point-to-point wiring, using workmanship that is equal to or better than any product you can buy at any price.
• A heavy gauge steel, fully vented chassis with a five coat finish. Each coat is hand-rubbed and polished.
• Premium parts: toroidal transformer for power supply; custom designed -in conjunction with one of the most prestigious transformer designers in the USA- encapsulated output transformers for lowest hum; wide bandwidth for great bass and extended highs; ceramic tube sockets; Nichicon and Solen capacitors; superfast Philips-diode-circuitry; gold-plated heavy duty WBT style speaker terminals; gold-plated panel mounted input jacks.
• SoftStart™ circuit for extended life of sensitive components, plus a reduced chance of tube failure from thermal shock.
• Adaptive AutoBias™ exclusive to PrimaLuna. This circuit monitors and smoothly adjusts bias constantly and instantly, reducing maintenance and increasing performance due to the dramatic reduction in distortion.
• Tube plate fuse to protect the amp output stage. Other amplifiers might need a trip to the shop if a tube fails; not this one- just plug in a new tube, fuse, and go.
Visually, this is a very well constructed amplifier. I mean, it weighs a TONNE for such a compact amplifier (in valve terms)
Everything is finished nicely. No rough edges, no rattling or vibrational noise. The Valve cover fits beautifully. Yes, this its a a nicely built bit of kit.
Two things I am not keen on are the use of Solen Capacitors and the use of gold plated brass connections on the rear. There is just no need for them in this day and age. Copper connections are cheap enough now to not grossly impact build costs.
Other than that, I'd be happy to stick my moniker on it. It's very well made and looks like a great deal of pride was taken in it's construction. I am impressed.
The Listening:
I let the amplifier warm up for about 30 minutes with the stock PrimaLuna valves in situ.
First play was Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella & Louis 24/96
OK, I admit it....i didn't want to trip this amp up too early! No point buying it if I was just going to find a way of making it sound crap.
It may sound pretty unimaginative to say, but Valves really do vocals better than anything else. Ella's voice sounded welcoming, like being invited in out of the cold and rain by your grandmother. It invoked the same kind of feeling as getting in a warm bath after running a marathon. It pulled me into the back of the listening chair with a higher amount of gravity. It was soothing and enveloping, without being overly rich or woolly. It was personal, intimate, almost like only Ella and I were in the world.
Louis Armstrong's Trumpet was a bit of an eye opener. It kind of came out of nowhere and grabbed my attention. It was silky smooth, with enough resolution to become a real living thing.
As the band kicked in, I noticed that the soundstage was pretty central, without progressing much outside the width of the speakers.
It's most likely the recording but in my narrow listening room, things like that often stand out. In a larger room, it doesn't seem as significant.
Piano had a great sense of touch, with the little peaks of the initial hammer strikes being clearly audible. The sense of depth in the piano also was a pleasant addition. Often a piano sounds like an upright, but this had the grandeur of a good upright with space around it.
The drumming too. Cymbals were delicate and metallic. Shimmering and accompanying, rather than striking and taking over.
This was a very enjoyable listen and I listened to the whole album.
I decided to make things a little more interesting and push the difficulty level up a notch.
Sera Una Noche – La Segunda
For those who don't know about the absolute mastery of Todd Garfinkel's recordings, get yourself over to MA Recordings and buy a few pieces. They are an investment, because they wont be around forever.
For those that do, you will know that in Digital recording, Todd is pretty much unsurpassed in the ability of creating some of the most special recordings in atmospheric venues, and this is exactly why I use this as a reference track.
Some will describe this album as “plinky-plonk Audiophile Sh#t”
But, it has so much going on around the music, that it's actually nothing to do with the music or instruments that I am listening for. Any Sound engineer can record an instrument well....hell, even I can do that here with a cheap condenser mic and a laptop. The real value in this recording is the capturing EVERYTHING in the venue.
So I go to my favourite track – Taquito Militar
There is loads of information available in this track. The song opens with a whistle of some sort and lots of little “wisps” of noise....however, not all of that comes across. The nylon strung guitar has elasticity in the notes, the drums are very tactile and buoyant. There is a lot of fast playing here and the PrimaLuna does all of that superbly well.
What is missing is a small percentage of space and transients. The little acoustic reflections and nuances don't quite make it out of speakers. It's not unexpected as I am asking this amplifier to do what the Neurochrome 686 does, but without all of the little upgrades it needs.
On balance, the PL5 does a resplendent job of the track and actually, in a lot of ways the sound is more natural. There is an flow and ease to the sound that makes things seem to be less scrutinised and easier to just forget about and listen to the music.
The vein of the performance is more prominent and the conveyance of momentum and drama are certainly right up there with the best stuff I have heard.
I listen to this album in it's entirety and even though I know the 686 would give me more detail etc., I am not missing it.
Time to crank things up a level :
Black Sabbath – Paranoid (Black Box Edition 24/96)
If you cant rock, you cant stay. Thats the rule here, as a lot of what I listen to is pretty much face-melting-guitar-solo madness.
Well Well Well.....i did not expect this..
Ozzy Osbourne and Co. have turned up to play!!
In the past, valve amps have struggled with sort of material. Sound cumbersome in the bass and struggling to keep a sense of urgency.....or rage.
“Not today Zurg!” to quote Buzz Lightyear.
The bass is punchy, heavy and impactful, guitars are crunchy but its the deliberate distortion via the overdrive on the guitar amp that flys in my face...it's so clean and easy to hear. The dual tracked guitar riffs are obviously separated and the layering is excellent.
Drums are excellently portrayed. The decay on the cymbals seem to last forever but they start and stop on a 6pence when he mutes them.
There is no over hang here, at either frequency extreme. This is actually a F*cking great recording!
Another hour passes as I marvel at one of Birmingham's best products blasting out of the speakers.
There is a full tone to the bass notes but the detail is very good. Often that is lost in valve amps at this price point, but its absolutely easy to follow the bass line. Low level detail is really good.
“Hand of Doom” was special....i loved it.
Where to next?
Thin Lizzy – Live And Dangerous
“Still in love with you” is the best track on this album. Scott Gorham is on fire in this track and that's where I am right now....i feel like I am there. Well, not quite.
One of the best things I have to listen to when judging equipment, is a live audience.
On the 686, there is a most convincing 3D like quality to the crowd as the album opens. The PL5 doesn't quite get to that level, but its a lot better than 90% of stuff I have had here.
I feel a couple of rows back....well, I actually feel a couple of sections back. The soundstage has taken on a bit of a overview effect of the live stage. It's certainly a different delivery to that of the 686.
Again, it's the slightly narrower soundstage at play. It wasn't an obvious thing on the other tracks, but the 686 is a true dual mono amp, so that helps spread things out a bit here. If you have a nicely spaced speaker setup, you aren't going to notice this one bit.
There is no doubt in my mind that the 686 bring more to the party here. It just gets you a bit closer, like front row seats at the concert, but the PL5 is singing it's heart out.
Phil Lynott quite often plays outside of the timing constraints on this track, and on some amps, his riffing can get a bit lost. Not here, the PL5 makes him easy follow. This track has sentimental attachment for me and I can feel the music choking me up a little........Fantastic!
The guitar has a lot of echo due to the venue and it's quite easy to follow this around and hear all the reflections.
Again, another album passes in it's entirety.
Conclusion
I could sit here writing all day about how it does on certain tracks etc., but the truth is, this is a valve amp that doesn't seem to suffer the same deficiencies as the others I have tried. It punchy, taut, musical and transparent enough....just.
The only way I can think to explain it is this:
Remember when 1080p HD TVs came out and made every SD TV look like a bag of nails?
Well, when 4K came out, I rushed to buy one. Quite quickly, I realised as I watched a few 4K Netflix films etc., that actually, the 4K picture quality is killing the illusion. It's almost too revealing.
Film sets look like..........sets...quite obviously.
The old days of cinema were one where the set didn't really attract the eye and you kind of bought into the illusion subconsciously.
4K has killed it....if it is fake, you can see it's fake very easily.
Dont get me wrong, watching Blue Planet or whatever, on 4K is unbelievable but it poses problems elsewhere.
That's a bit how I feel here. The PL5 is 1080p and the 686 is 4k, it just depends on what you want to listen to...or for, as to what amp you'd plug in.
I am absolutely delighted with the PrimaLuna Prologue Five. It's still relatively under appreciated in the UK, so I suggest if you are considering a new amplifier and have a £1-1.5k budget, seek one out and give it a listen. It will not disappoint.
Mine will undergo the usual tweakery.....new caps, RCA sockets and biding posts and some OCC wire wherever I can get it in. It'll be here for a long time, unless I want to buy monoblocks lol
Thanks for reading.
Many years ago, I was loaned a very low powered Valve amplifier. It was a bit of Chi-Fi which had been fettled and improved by a good friend of mine. I have never heard an amplifier sound as sweet or fluid through the treble and midrange. It started a long lasting affection for glowing glass bottles.
As my journey through equipment and experimental setups raged on, only one thing remained constant. There was always something using a valve in my system. Generally it was the phonostage.
This journey kind of ended in the purchase of a Neurochrome 686. It was everything I wanted from an amplifier.....so why do I still spend a few ours a week looking at valve amplifiers? Is it the look? The sound?
It was time to find out.
I have been frequenting the homes of a few “High Level” audiophiles recently, and the one thing that they all had in common was the fact they were using digital (no vinyl) into rather tasty looking valve amps.
The itch started. And an itch not scratched, itches for a long time.
I decided I would revisit valve amplification and pair it up to my PecanPi DAC. All o needed was a valve amp! Many candidates crossed my web browser, but one name that constantly popped up as extremely good value for money, was PrimaLuna.
I did a little research and found a few online videos and felt that the glowing reviews from Upscale Audio seemed like genuine enthusiasm, rather than sales spiel. I could be wrong, and this guy is the best salesman I have seen.
After a 2 minute search, I found the PrimaLuna Prologue FIVE for sale and bought it.
About The Amplifier:
From the manual:
This PrimaLuna ProLogue power amp features:
• Hand-made construction with the finest point-to-point wiring, using workmanship that is equal to or better than any product you can buy at any price.
• A heavy gauge steel, fully vented chassis with a five coat finish. Each coat is hand-rubbed and polished.
• Premium parts: toroidal transformer for power supply; custom designed -in conjunction with one of the most prestigious transformer designers in the USA- encapsulated output transformers for lowest hum; wide bandwidth for great bass and extended highs; ceramic tube sockets; Nichicon and Solen capacitors; superfast Philips-diode-circuitry; gold-plated heavy duty WBT style speaker terminals; gold-plated panel mounted input jacks.
• SoftStart™ circuit for extended life of sensitive components, plus a reduced chance of tube failure from thermal shock.
• Adaptive AutoBias™ exclusive to PrimaLuna. This circuit monitors and smoothly adjusts bias constantly and instantly, reducing maintenance and increasing performance due to the dramatic reduction in distortion.
• Tube plate fuse to protect the amp output stage. Other amplifiers might need a trip to the shop if a tube fails; not this one- just plug in a new tube, fuse, and go.
Visually, this is a very well constructed amplifier. I mean, it weighs a TONNE for such a compact amplifier (in valve terms)
Everything is finished nicely. No rough edges, no rattling or vibrational noise. The Valve cover fits beautifully. Yes, this its a a nicely built bit of kit.
Two things I am not keen on are the use of Solen Capacitors and the use of gold plated brass connections on the rear. There is just no need for them in this day and age. Copper connections are cheap enough now to not grossly impact build costs.
Other than that, I'd be happy to stick my moniker on it. It's very well made and looks like a great deal of pride was taken in it's construction. I am impressed.
The Listening:
I let the amplifier warm up for about 30 minutes with the stock PrimaLuna valves in situ.
First play was Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Ella & Louis 24/96
OK, I admit it....i didn't want to trip this amp up too early! No point buying it if I was just going to find a way of making it sound crap.
It may sound pretty unimaginative to say, but Valves really do vocals better than anything else. Ella's voice sounded welcoming, like being invited in out of the cold and rain by your grandmother. It invoked the same kind of feeling as getting in a warm bath after running a marathon. It pulled me into the back of the listening chair with a higher amount of gravity. It was soothing and enveloping, without being overly rich or woolly. It was personal, intimate, almost like only Ella and I were in the world.
Louis Armstrong's Trumpet was a bit of an eye opener. It kind of came out of nowhere and grabbed my attention. It was silky smooth, with enough resolution to become a real living thing.
As the band kicked in, I noticed that the soundstage was pretty central, without progressing much outside the width of the speakers.
It's most likely the recording but in my narrow listening room, things like that often stand out. In a larger room, it doesn't seem as significant.
Piano had a great sense of touch, with the little peaks of the initial hammer strikes being clearly audible. The sense of depth in the piano also was a pleasant addition. Often a piano sounds like an upright, but this had the grandeur of a good upright with space around it.
The drumming too. Cymbals were delicate and metallic. Shimmering and accompanying, rather than striking and taking over.
This was a very enjoyable listen and I listened to the whole album.
I decided to make things a little more interesting and push the difficulty level up a notch.
Sera Una Noche – La Segunda
For those who don't know about the absolute mastery of Todd Garfinkel's recordings, get yourself over to MA Recordings and buy a few pieces. They are an investment, because they wont be around forever.
For those that do, you will know that in Digital recording, Todd is pretty much unsurpassed in the ability of creating some of the most special recordings in atmospheric venues, and this is exactly why I use this as a reference track.
Some will describe this album as “plinky-plonk Audiophile Sh#t”
But, it has so much going on around the music, that it's actually nothing to do with the music or instruments that I am listening for. Any Sound engineer can record an instrument well....hell, even I can do that here with a cheap condenser mic and a laptop. The real value in this recording is the capturing EVERYTHING in the venue.
So I go to my favourite track – Taquito Militar
There is loads of information available in this track. The song opens with a whistle of some sort and lots of little “wisps” of noise....however, not all of that comes across. The nylon strung guitar has elasticity in the notes, the drums are very tactile and buoyant. There is a lot of fast playing here and the PrimaLuna does all of that superbly well.
What is missing is a small percentage of space and transients. The little acoustic reflections and nuances don't quite make it out of speakers. It's not unexpected as I am asking this amplifier to do what the Neurochrome 686 does, but without all of the little upgrades it needs.
On balance, the PL5 does a resplendent job of the track and actually, in a lot of ways the sound is more natural. There is an flow and ease to the sound that makes things seem to be less scrutinised and easier to just forget about and listen to the music.
The vein of the performance is more prominent and the conveyance of momentum and drama are certainly right up there with the best stuff I have heard.
I listen to this album in it's entirety and even though I know the 686 would give me more detail etc., I am not missing it.
Time to crank things up a level :
Black Sabbath – Paranoid (Black Box Edition 24/96)
If you cant rock, you cant stay. Thats the rule here, as a lot of what I listen to is pretty much face-melting-guitar-solo madness.
Well Well Well.....i did not expect this..
Ozzy Osbourne and Co. have turned up to play!!
In the past, valve amps have struggled with sort of material. Sound cumbersome in the bass and struggling to keep a sense of urgency.....or rage.
“Not today Zurg!” to quote Buzz Lightyear.
The bass is punchy, heavy and impactful, guitars are crunchy but its the deliberate distortion via the overdrive on the guitar amp that flys in my face...it's so clean and easy to hear. The dual tracked guitar riffs are obviously separated and the layering is excellent.
Drums are excellently portrayed. The decay on the cymbals seem to last forever but they start and stop on a 6pence when he mutes them.
There is no over hang here, at either frequency extreme. This is actually a F*cking great recording!
Another hour passes as I marvel at one of Birmingham's best products blasting out of the speakers.
There is a full tone to the bass notes but the detail is very good. Often that is lost in valve amps at this price point, but its absolutely easy to follow the bass line. Low level detail is really good.
“Hand of Doom” was special....i loved it.
Where to next?
Thin Lizzy – Live And Dangerous
“Still in love with you” is the best track on this album. Scott Gorham is on fire in this track and that's where I am right now....i feel like I am there. Well, not quite.
One of the best things I have to listen to when judging equipment, is a live audience.
On the 686, there is a most convincing 3D like quality to the crowd as the album opens. The PL5 doesn't quite get to that level, but its a lot better than 90% of stuff I have had here.
I feel a couple of rows back....well, I actually feel a couple of sections back. The soundstage has taken on a bit of a overview effect of the live stage. It's certainly a different delivery to that of the 686.
Again, it's the slightly narrower soundstage at play. It wasn't an obvious thing on the other tracks, but the 686 is a true dual mono amp, so that helps spread things out a bit here. If you have a nicely spaced speaker setup, you aren't going to notice this one bit.
There is no doubt in my mind that the 686 bring more to the party here. It just gets you a bit closer, like front row seats at the concert, but the PL5 is singing it's heart out.
Phil Lynott quite often plays outside of the timing constraints on this track, and on some amps, his riffing can get a bit lost. Not here, the PL5 makes him easy follow. This track has sentimental attachment for me and I can feel the music choking me up a little........Fantastic!
The guitar has a lot of echo due to the venue and it's quite easy to follow this around and hear all the reflections.
Again, another album passes in it's entirety.
Conclusion
I could sit here writing all day about how it does on certain tracks etc., but the truth is, this is a valve amp that doesn't seem to suffer the same deficiencies as the others I have tried. It punchy, taut, musical and transparent enough....just.
The only way I can think to explain it is this:
Remember when 1080p HD TVs came out and made every SD TV look like a bag of nails?
Well, when 4K came out, I rushed to buy one. Quite quickly, I realised as I watched a few 4K Netflix films etc., that actually, the 4K picture quality is killing the illusion. It's almost too revealing.
Film sets look like..........sets...quite obviously.
The old days of cinema were one where the set didn't really attract the eye and you kind of bought into the illusion subconsciously.
4K has killed it....if it is fake, you can see it's fake very easily.
Dont get me wrong, watching Blue Planet or whatever, on 4K is unbelievable but it poses problems elsewhere.
That's a bit how I feel here. The PL5 is 1080p and the 686 is 4k, it just depends on what you want to listen to...or for, as to what amp you'd plug in.
I am absolutely delighted with the PrimaLuna Prologue Five. It's still relatively under appreciated in the UK, so I suggest if you are considering a new amplifier and have a £1-1.5k budget, seek one out and give it a listen. It will not disappoint.
Mine will undergo the usual tweakery.....new caps, RCA sockets and biding posts and some OCC wire wherever I can get it in. It'll be here for a long time, unless I want to buy monoblocks lol
Thanks for reading.
)