That is awesome. I read with interest the recent review of this phono pre. How would you characterize its sound signature? Is it quiet?
Sometimes, things go right with impulse purchases.
My 10 year old tubed phono is in the shop, taking a surprisingly long time to get repaired.
To hold me over, I was looking at the Sota Pyxi. I bookmarked an Ebay listing for a tubed phonostage a month ago, because I found the asking price unusually low- a 'if it seems too good to be true-it is" kinda deal.
Before deciding to hit the "buy now" for the Sota, I checked to see how the listing was doing. It was still unsold.
For kicks, I submitted a ridiculous lower offer-immediately countered. Did a hail Mary "final offer" which was still quite low...seller accepted!
Even with sales tax/shipping I won big time.
3 days later-It's hooked and I'm spinning my latest bin findsdd. WOW!
I'm usually reading about someone else finding an amazing score for a really low price. I finally got my turn!
Props to USPS-no shipping drama.
This was released earlier this year, so it's relatively "new".
PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube Phono Preamplifier | Hi-Fi News (hifinews.com)
Typical PL build. Dual mono tube rectified, tube MC gain.
Out of the box-quite nice, perhaps a little more run-in time for the tubes. Even with few hours, the familiar "organic" tube presentation. Very quite(for a tubed unit) more so than my other "quiet" tube phonostage.
10 tubes-could get pricey for NOS tweaking. Fortunately, the "money" tubes are just 2 each -12ax7/6DJ8 which I have for my other unit.
The ONLY negative- black finish...MY PL HP is silver. Not fond of black finished gear, but the performance/price more than make up for it.
MY reference was a Fosgate all tube( tube MC gain/rectifier) and I've mentioned in past threads NOT hearing a few other popular tube units that convinced me enough to give up on the Foz.
Once I get it back, I'll let someone else enjoy it for a smokin deal.
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So I’m confused. You say the listing was for the Sota phono stage, and you made an offer. Then you show a photo and description of the PL. This: Before deciding to hit the "buy now" for the Sota, I checked to see how the listing was doing. It was still unsold. For kicks, I submitted a ridiculous lower offer-immediately countered. Did a hail Mary "final offer" which was still quite low...seller accepted! would make me think you bought the Sota. Which is it?
Update. I reread it and I can see where you can make the leap to the PL purchase. It was in there, just not easy to decipher. Enjoy your new toy!
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@tablejockey please do a follow up after you get some listening time on your new phono stage. Enjoy the music |
Haha! Sorry for the rambling. All thumbs on my phone, while sorting thru dried laundry last night-no editing. So, I planned on purchasing the Sota while waiting for repair of my Fosgate. About a month ago, I had this PL bookmarked, because it was priced very low and was curious to see how long before it sells. I revisited the listing before purchasing the Sota. Seller agreed to a counter offer lower than his asking price. karl_desch-you probably know all tube units have some degree of hiss. My Fosgate was acceptably quite. The PL is quieter.
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Oh dear... My once quite quiet(did I get that right?) Foz still has not been assessed by the shop. Kuhwhyit? A month has passed, and last 3 weeks have been "the tech assigned to your equipment has been out on medical, we will reassign it to another tech and try to get it in the que." My go to is George Meyer-LA, and it looks like they're backed up/short staffed this time around. My prior experiences were the opposite, even during the Covid period. Who else in the LA/OC area is a solid referral in the LA/OC area? I'm in Long Beach, don't want to drive any more than an hour either direction.
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tomic601- Yeah, Berdan was 1/2 hour drive from my place. Years ago(decades), there were repair shops all over. Now a competent analog repair shop is a difficult thing to come across. Guess I may just have to let it ride and hope on seeing it by end of the year. Whoever works on it has NO schematic available and no real support-the former distributor pretty much has nothing to offer. Not holding my breath on this one. No side by side comparison happening anytime soon.
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"Audio Classics in Vestal NY…try them…." tomic601Thanks for the suggestion. Decided to just let it ride. If I didn't find thePL, I would look at Audio Classics.That's the place to send my Mac MR71 tuner for the Modaferri treatment-Marantz 10B killer-I believe that service is well over $1K!
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