I was a little shocked that the little Almarro is as dynamic as it is, warm,
with great vocals, and is a real giant killer. You have to roll-in the right
tubes though. I got rid of the stock EH 84 and 12ax7. I have rolled in
Mullard, 7189s, Ei, and Gold Lion 84s. So far I like the 7189s the best. I
have substituted Sylvania 5751 3 Mica Black Plates as well as GE for the
stock tube. Soon, I will also try Amperex, JJs, and Shuguang Black
Treasure, or their Psvane counterparts.
The Cary 300Bs exhibit all the 300B attributes; it too, is warm, full, beautiful
midrange, bass is good, but not last word in slam, has nice organic feel.
Never fatigues.
The Primaluna does not have the stock tubes, I am mostly running NOS
Soviet Reflektor 6n3ce 6L6, NOS Amperex Bugle Boy12au7 with NOS
Sylvania 5751 3 Mica Black plates. This unit is nicely balanced, excellent
mids, bass slam, and a good treble, but certainly not the last word. In my
room each of these amps throw a wide, layered sound stage. The Cary is
the most lush. I'd like the Primaluna to have just a tad more weight and
fullness. Same for the Almarro, yet neither is thin.
All-in-all I like the Cary V-12 with these speakers the most; yet I like them
all for different reasons.
I should add that none of these units ever fatigue.
