@corelli,
Sure, I'll give it a try--remember, these are my ears, my room and my gear.
First off, I love what PrimaLuna does and stands for. I had a wonderful experience with them. I love what Kevin Deal does. He's a good guy with tons of knowledge. I think he's a tremendously positive businessman and a lover of all things hifi. The PrimaLuna is a fantastic build and sounding amp. The remotes are to die for. (Speaking of which, my remote had issues and they ultimately gave me a new one ($250) for free even though I was well past warranty expiration.
I really loved the PL when it powered more modern loudspeaker designs--KEF LS50s, PSB Imagine T3s and T2s, Dynaudio, Golden Ear, hmmm...what else, oh, B&W. I'm sure over the years I heard others. Never a bad match with any stuff I had or heard it with.
Disclaimer--I have not heard the PL EVO range.
The PL I had was the Dialogue HP. That thing could seemingly power anything! It was built like a tank. The construction is super. It is really gold standard on point-to-point, layout, clean build, etc. I wouldn't want to service one or go back in one, as there is little room in the bigger models' chassis. I felt like a surgeon in there.
Pros to PL
- Build quality; good to great parts quality.
- Power
- Ease of use/maintenance
- Tube rolling paradise
- Can drive and sound good with most stuff on the market (so long as it's not paired with something crazy)
- Dealer and customer service are IMPECCABLE. They are like Manley Labs--you're almost family.
- Pleasant sound that doesn't offend.
Cons
- It weighs a ton (at least the HP I had). Moving a 60lb amp is no fun.
- Aesthetics. I never cared for how it looked (this is entirely subjective). The casework is awesome, but wasn't my cup of tea. It looks clunky to me. Others like it. Who cares? It's my silly view.
- Not the last word on detail, air, sweetness, and so on. I think it's the equivalent of going to a really nice restaurant that has continental fare--you can find something you'll like and it will generally please everyone and offend no one.
In my system, the PL sounded BIG (I have efficient speakers), bold, pleasant, and generally musical. Imaging was good. Bass was large. However, compared to the 275, the sound was thicker, denser. The 275 is sweeter, substantially more holographic, clearer, more delineated without being hyper detailed or analytical. I've never really understood how to use the PRAT description but I suppose it would fit. The 275 boogies. It swings. It's sweeter, creamier, but has more air too.
I just go for what I hear and what wins in my personal shootouts. Maybe this will help--- I built a highly upgraded Elekit 300B amp (see Herb Reichert's reviews on it--it's pretty amazing). When I had the PL, I would go back and forth between the PL and the 300B. The 300B gave me water like clarity and rich detail. But, as Ralph of Atmasphere correctly taught me on these forums, the 300B has little distortion at very very low wattage--once you start getting up to like 30% of its power, it starts distorting substantial. The PL gave me balls and bombast--also a killer remote, tons of inputs, and tube rolling fun.
When I got the 275, I ultimately stopped using the PL. And, here's what was surprising to me--I used the 300 B a bit less. Why? I asked. I think the answer is the 275 has a healthy dose of clarity, sweetness and space with holographic images.
Note--I'm not saying the 275 is better than the 300B, but I use the 275 way more.
When I started messing around with the PL, I was never really able to tweak it to make it sound like what I thought was missing or what I was after. Again it was a great sounding amp. With the 275, I thought it fit my taste better for long term. So I sold the PL. Someone out there has a PL with VCap CuTFs on the two gain tubes. :)
I think the 275 is about 75-80% stock of where the amp could be, but I'd defer to Mr. Carver for sure.
Our esteemed member JJSS bought one and tried it about the time I got mine. He has some killer gear, and great ears/experience. He liked it much but felt there was just a bit of sheen or haze on top--I think he said he might be nit picking though. I agreed.
So I cracked it open. My jaw hit the ground when I saw these.
https://www.suntan.com.hk/Plastic-Film-Capacitors/TS02.html. Not because I think you have to have boutique or hi end parts to sound good, but because the amp sounded pretty darn great with inexpensive caps that I think are below good quality WIMA, AMtrans, and so on. So I though, King Bob Carver's circuit and know how was squeezing everything out of those mediocre-at-best caps. How would it sound with legitimate caps? By the way, the physical size of the original caps in the 275 is almost laughable. The .22uFs on the signal/phase section are no bigger than my pinky finger nail--actually smaller.
I'm inclined to tweak via a cap, resistor, or tube before going after a $1K power cord or interconnects--just me. I have decent cables, but none costs more than $200, maybe $300.
Finally, keep in mind that I'm running Klipsch Cornwall IVs. I just don't know how this amp would sound with modern, less efficient designs. I would expect it would sound great. Who knows!? It's got balls.
Also, Bob is a genius. The PL would heat my room. The 275 weighs 18lbs or so, I can lift it with one hand, and it never puts out noticeable heat. I think Mr. Carver admitted he lifted and tweaked the DC restorer circuit from 1950s television design. It idles those big KT120s at 9 watts or something insane. It's not a gimmick. It works, saves energy, less heat, and your tubes last longer.
Oh, one more thing-- the user gets to set the bias (sooooo easy--do not be bashful) on the 275. I run mine around 70, which produces a big soundstage and images.
