Made in China. Better now than when the bottom falls out.
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Seems like there are a ton of entry and mid level PL owners that want to move up from Prologue series to Dialogue and Evo 400....Owning a Prologue Classic integrated, I’ve been drawn-like-a-moth-to-flame to every forum thread on the ‘Net with “PrimaLuna” in the title and the perennial story seems to go like, “I had the Prologue II for six months before unloading it for a Dialogue Premium HP.”... |
Can’t avoid sounding like a broken record....great time to buy stuff. If I find an "act now" deal for a dialogue pre/monos,I just may have to grab them. Nah, I want to find the deal that will NEVER come even as this madness plays out. My PL HP is ready for the $45K Sonus Faber Stradivari's for $10K!!!! https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9djed-sonus-faber-stradivari-homage-full-range All this extra time ,I could mod my HP integrated. Drop some nice coupling caps and a other tweaky thnigs to make even MORE voodoo music. There’s more than a couple years of archives and endless opinions which are no different than other fine gear. Go and find EXACT build/part/performance in a USA spec. Good luck finding it. They are not unique if you break it down. Line Magnetic and probably a couple more are worth checking out also. Negative reviews are necessary for perspective, but the ears have the final say, like ANY equipment. . At least my when I checked here, there were 3 pieces. Not an eyebrow raising amount. |
Just my opinion, but yes, "a lot" according to what I've been seeing the past 2 months, not just the snapshot of what's on there at this particular moment. Most of what I've been seeing are Dialogue Premiums; amps, monos, and integrateds. If you look at sales history, on multiple sights, it seemed people tried them and were moving on. I was only looking for some feedback, not really interested in 'snark'. |
It's probably to upgrade in some instances. They get good reviews, but they aren't perfect according to user reviews; they are built to a price after all, and I have personally always thought that they were ugly for tube gear. Admittedly, I have never heard any of it, and as another poster says, it may just be to get some needed cash. Anyway, they sell a lot of them, so there are a lot of owners out there. |
would agree with Tablejockey. great time to buy stuff. Am doing same, looking for good deals. 0nce covid is over, economy will come back strong for many. Lots of pent up demand right now. There may be a few sellers trying to raise rent cash, but think that is more exception than the norm. If you look at historical data off hifishark, long before covid hit, there was a high frequency of regular primaluna sales. Its easy to see why some want to move up. Where else can you get a real tube amp new at that price? I know I bought my first PL amp on a lark. Have owned VAC, Cary, CJ, VTL and many pieces of MAC gear, and have to admit PL makes it super easy and effortless to run tube gear on a daily basis. |
A couple days ago I saw an ad for a reasonably priced Jadis Integrated in the my latest issue of....was it Stereophile? The mouth watered. Should I chuck my 'Luna, now several-years-old? I remembered how superb a Jadis Integrated sounded when I heard it at Brooks Berdan's store, a couple years ago. Then I switched on the Primo Luno to play a couple LPs. I stopped caring. |
I bought My Prologue 5 off Agon .Like Brand New.Great Price and a Great Seller who happened to live in my area so no shipping.Pretty painless way to enjoy the Tube Amp Experience.During these hardtimes I am sure some are selling to raise money.It may not be their Main Amp in some cases .I say snap em up if you are leaning towards the Primaluna Lineup.If they are sellingto raise rent money ,car payment etc,then you are helping some poor soul out!! |
In 2007 I jumped into tubes (and a much nicer stereo) with a used Primaluna PL2. Wow very different from a cheap Yamaha receiver. Had great support form Kevin Deal even though I bought it used. After a few years heard a 2 watt tube amp (Grommes PHI26 ) at Arizona HiFi in Phoenix. Wow was hooked even more. Bought it and while I had a 6 month wait it for it to be built bought a Decware Mini Torii. Yes tubes are addictive. Still have both of those low watt amps no major changes in my system for about 8 years. But still looking for that amp that might change my mind. Tubes of course. |
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Some of it is because the Evo line sounds measurably better. I tried the Dialogue Premium and Evo 400 at home and the Evo line was indeed more than a shade better. A lot of smart little details have been added. I have also wanted to trade up. But as I have upgraded my speakers, phono stage and cartridge, the Primaluna has seemed to prefer the better gear. Currently the weak link is probably the Primaluna. But the sonic presentation is blissful. Can I get better, yes. But I want to hang out here for a while before I move on.
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PL is relatively high volume sales, percentages of sells to buys would give much more accurate picture. I had Dialogue Four with many diy mods, sold because I prefer my much more expensive SET amps. Still listen to this amp in nephew's system, very nice setup for his first system.
I'd imagine most are selling because they're moving up, similar priced amps and pre's are going to be sideways move at best. |
I owned a new Dialogue Premium HP integrated a few years ago and shortly after I got it up and running, a horrible DC noise came through the speakers. I took it in for repair and the technician told me it was just more Chinese “crap” as one of the internal wires came loose and was touching something it shouldn’t have. I thought it sounded good, but it scared me enough to put it up for sale. I’m sure the quality is fine with the line, but of course I had to get the one that had an issue….. |
Trying to derive meaning from the classified posting trends is a shaky proposition. Brands that sell a LOT are going to show up proportionally more frequently in the ads. It’s not necessarily an indictment of the product at hand. Just the nature of the hobby - many of us habitually churn through a lot of gear. Sometimes we sell gear we regret, and buy back. What IS transparent is the flavor-of-the-month cycle for trendy products and brands. When a flavor gets old, the product gluts the market for a while and then kind of just disappears forever. Prima Luna as a brand has had staying power, and doesn’t qualify for that. Their new hybrid offerings represent slightly risky new ground for them and possibly *could* end up being a flavor of the month pattern - but that remains to be seen. |
I think there are Chinese brands that see the money that can be made in the High Fidelity industry and want to sell under the more mainstream brands ie Cary, ARC, McIntosh, and the boutique brands which demand even higher prices. Line Magnetic, Doge, Yaqin, Mingda, Muzishare and Willsenton come to mind. The Willsenton r800i looks very impressive and they have a shop in the US for repairs. If one buys an amp like PL at a very good price, it's easier to upgrade or off load it. If I but an ARC reference I am investing high $$$. I might take a big hit, selling it. I have a Line Magnetic integrated tube amp that I bought from a local dealer and I really like it alot. Once the transformer failed (after about 4 years of heavy use) and LM Audio took care of it. There is a misconception that ALL CHI-FI is bad and poorly made. That is just not true.... |
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