Primaluna?

Yea sorry I got defensive. I was beat tired. Also want to say I do not want to imply ASL or Jolida don’t have U.S. support. I have zero idea. The guy I mentioned bought it used. But calling me elitist is a bit much when our first product in 2003 was a $1300 disruptor. And we keep it as real as we can today.   

I truly believe these low-priced tube products are a great boon to the industry and said that in an interview. They could be a major gift that dealers don’t recognize.

They plant a seed that there is something more fun and better sounding than an Alexa speaker on the counter. It fires the imagination. As people age and their income increases, they might upgrade. It’s always been like that.

Some manufactures don’t agree with me and see it as a threat. I think it’s one of the best things that can happen to our industry and we should be counting our blessings.

The old audiophiles are dying off. I get more young people getting involved with this than I ever would have guessed. And it starts somewhere.

I wouldnt trade places with any hifi manufaturer or dealer, I just wouldnt have the patience. Ralph at Atma-sphere or Kevin at Upscale.

caller: Im looking for a 6wpc SET amplifier to drive my homemade speakers but it must have 12ax7 tubes in the pre section and 12au7’s in the driver stage. I dont mind 12at7’s but I would need input from the designer as to why.

hifi professional: well, where do I begin….

Truth be told, if I could, I would rather be doing that all day. I love that stuff and that’s how Upscale started. Just tubes. If I could sit and bullsh*t I’d be in heaven, and that’s what I want to do by hiring people that know how to run a business and free me. 

I’ve got pallets of vintage gear I want to play with.

Ralph probably has a better temperament than I do on forums. He is the real deal. I can have a relapse and end up in rec.audio.opinion or rec.audio.tubes usenet mode.

I removed most of my posts, and wish nothing but good to all tube-heads. Even if it’s the cheapest all-tube amp on the market, and that’s all you can afford, I’d say go for it.

Tubes can change everything you thought you knew about communicating with music.

Since this thread continues to go in another direction than I intended I may as well roll with it.  I like most have seen Kevin in his videos going back years. I’ve had one personal conversation with him regarding the Prologue Premium Preamp, and the original LTA Micro that he carried at the time. I figured since he sold both, and both were very well received in the press that I could get some clarification on each of their strengths and their weaknesses. He responded as if it was a ridiculous question, and that the Primaluna was clearly superior.  I asked him why and he went on about how much his preamp weighs. I told him I wasn’t to concerned about their weight and that I was very open minded about there being different ways to get good sound. Also from the little I do understand about the LTA is that it’s key distinction is it is transformerless. I could imagine if you took the transformers out of the Primaluna and used a cheaper lighter chassis the two would probably be fairly close in weight. Then again I could be way off and I’m aware if this.  I’m also aware I have no idea what makes a preamp sound good. Far as I know it has nothing to do with weight. I think a more appropriate response to my question would have been to explain why the Primaluna sounds better, and then if he felt it was needed to further explain how the weight of the Primaluna contributed to this. 
 

Anyways, I guess my point is I was a bit turned off by his response and seemingly at times lack manners.  I would already own or would have owned one if it weren’t for that conversation. I’ve realized over time though that it silly to not try something that truly speaks to me because one person with affiliation turned me off. I’ve also realized I can appreciate Kevin’s passion, and I do think that’s where most of his shortness comes from. At the same time I would have very much appreciated somebody who I felt truly wanted to educate me instead of whatever that was. 
 

Also regarding integrated vs seperates, am I going to get more of the unique quality that tubes bring with seperates?  Or are the improvements in more general areas, not just the ones associated with tubes. Really I just want more bloom and more of the feeling of listening to a performance, and not a stereo.   Hopefully that makes since. I’m not very comfortable explaining what I’m hearing. 

@brylandgoodman 

Sorry to hear you’ve been somewhat turned off by Kevin… I don’t know him, but I completely understand where he is coming from. He is really knowledgeable and very enthusiastic. I have been very serious about high end audio and very early on recognized the 100% correlation between weight and sound quality. I am sure someone will come up with an exception… but after auditioning and owning hundreds of components the rule holds. If he had told me one weighed much more than the other, that would be it, I would have shut my mouth and accepted everything.

Power management and current are everything in high end audio… and it weighs a lot. A lightweight preamp or amp is just not going to cut it. So, I see your point… he assumed that this comment would be self evident. From what you said, he was very honest and enthusiastic about what he told you. But maybe didn’t read you right.