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<p><strong><a rel="attachment wp-att-11610" href="http://www.tonepublications.com/review/primaluna-prologue-premium-stereo-power-amplifier/attachment/olympus-digital-camera-190/"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11610" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.tonepublications.com/media/177.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="455" /></a>So what exactly makes this a <em>premium</em> PrimaLuna product? *Like all products from the Dutch brand, the ProLogue Premium Premium Stereo Power Amplifier has a certain aesthetic appeal: a gunmetal-colored finish, which wouldn’t be out of place on an AMG Mercedes, set off by an anodized-aluminum faceplate (available in silver or black).* Also like the rest of the company’s lineup, the ProLogue Premium stereo amp offers serious levels of performance—this is where the amp’s <em>premium </em>designate becomes apparent.</strong></p>
<p>Popping off the bottom cover reveals ceramic tube sockets and Nichicon and Solen capacitors flanked by premium resistors, along with newly designed output and power transformers. *Wiring is all point-to point and meticulously done by hand, which is one of the reasons PrimaLuna amps have earned such a high reputation for their reliability.* All this precision comes wrapped in a somewhat compact package that weighs nearly 50 pounds, and has an MSRP of $2,299.</p>
<p><strong>Hassle-Free Tube Power</strong></p>
<p>PrimaLuna amplifiers have long been known for their Adaptive AutoBias circuitry, a PrimaLuna trademark that makes traditional tube biasing a thing of the past.* This design allows a wide range of tubes to be used in the output sockets: *KT88 or EL34 tubes work equally well—every ProLogue Premium Series amplifier comes with either set of tubes installed. *(The KT88s produce 36 watts per channel; the EL34s produce 35 watts per channel.) *The new premium version of the amp adds a switch on the side of the chassis, allowing you to optimize the amplifier to your choice of tubes, in order to achieve the lowest possible levels of noise and distortion.</p>
<p>I’m immediately struck by the lively sonic response that the ProLogue provides, with a quick, organic and natural sound that spans all frequency ranges. *This amplifier always feels ready and able to take on whatever you can throw at it—which is exactly what I did.* The ProLogue Premium eliminates the hassle of owning a vacuum-tube-powered amplifier.* It even has a PTP circuit (for Power Transformer Protection) that will protect the amp’s output transformers, should you have an accidental, catastrophic tube failure, which can happen with today’s tubes.</p>
<p>PrimaLuna has updated the front-end circuitry for this amp, which now uses 12AU7 tubes instead of the 12AX7s in the company’s earlier amplifiers.* The inveterate tweak-geek in me could not resist fooling with those 12AU7s, even though the amp sounds great with stock tubes. *New old stock GE tubes render a smoother top-end response, but offer a different listening perspective, as if I had moved back about five rows in the orchestra.* Next, a set of RCA clear tops (with side getters, for the tubeophiles in the audience) provides a big jump in frequency extension, as well as more transparency and a more palpable midrange.* Best of all, Kevin Deal, the owner of Upscale Audio (and the PrimaLuna importer) has a massive cache of these tubes in stock, so you can experiment at will; the 12AU7s aren’t nearly the cost of the 12AX7s. When asked, Deal said that he has “over 10,000 rare and NOS 12AU7s.”</p>
<p>Be aware, I achieved these results with my system; so don’t take them as an absolute, as results will vary on other systems.* But that’s the fun of an amplifier like this:* You can experiment as much or as little as you want—and we haven’t even talked about swapping output tubes.* Don’t forget to save those stock tubes just in case you find yourself lost in the vacuum-tube jungle.</p>
<p><strong><a rel="attachment wp-att-11611" href="http://www.tonepublications.com/review/primaluna-prologue-premium-stereo-power-amplifier/attachment/olympus-digital-camera-191/"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11611" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.tonepublications.com/media/272.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="407" /></a>Love at First Listen</strong></p>
<p>Brian Bromberg’s closely miked contrabass in “The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers,” from his <em>Wood </em>album, instantly confirms the level of full-bodied bass definition the ProLogue Premium provides.* In addition to the solid low-end response, you can clearly hear the creaking and groaning of the instrument, as well as the strings being plucked and slapped on the fretboard.* I’ve never heard this kind of resolution from a vintage Dynaco Stereo 70 (or modded variation on the theme).</p>
<p>Muddy Waters’ album <em>Folk Singer </em>proves a perfect midrange showcase for this amp, which places Waters’ voice firmly at center stage, while simultaneously revealing the ambience in the recording studio present on this intimate performance.* Perhaps the best showcase of any tube amplifier is its ability to convey the sultriness of the female voice, which is another test that the ProLogue Premium passes handily.* I listen to the entire disc of Renée Fleming’s <em>Haunted Heart</em> without pause. *The track “When Did You Leave Heaven?” gives Fleming and the accompanying guitar, courtesy of Bill Frisell, plenty of space without missing a lick of subtlety.</p>
<p><strong>And Secondly</strong></p>
<p>It’s usually a given that vacuum-tube amplifiers excel at revealing low-level detail and vocal tonality, but the ProLogue Premium performs equally well with larger-scale music.* Nelson Riddle’s <em>Nice ‘n’ Easy: The Music of Nelson Riddle </em>is a classic big-band record full of massed horns, which the ProLogue Premium sails through, keeping the horns sorted without becoming harsh or buried in the mix—impressive.</p>
<p>The acid test comes via the Minutemen’s “One Reporter’s Opinion,” from the <em>Double Nickels on the Dime </em>disc. *D. Boon’s AK-47-style guitar playing is present in all its force, Mike Watt’s fluid bass is easy to follow and drummer George Hurley’s seems to punch a hole in my forehead—the PrimaLuna delivers all of this while giving the track the precision and grit on the scale it deserves.* No matter how complex the musical selections, this amplifier does an excellent job keeping pace.</p>
<p><strong><br />I’m a Fan!</strong></p>
<p>I’m taken with this little but heavy amplifier, and can see why our publisher has been an advocate of PrimaLuna since day one.* This amp takes everything I throw at it in stride—always musical, always eager and always evenly balanced in overall presentation.* As with the other PrimaLuna products, the Premium stereo amp represents good value.* This is the perfect power amp for a music lover wanting to assemble a high performance system on a tight budget.* The ProLogue Premium is worth every penny.</p>
<p>I will say that one must be realistic when pairing the Premium with his or her speakers and listening environment. *Although the volume levels I’m able to achieve with this amp in my largish room are quite satisfying, 35 watts only go so far—even great watts such as these.* The amp does clip slightly when I get lead-footed with the volume.* To its credit, when the amp does clip, it does so with gentle compression instead of just falling apart.* To this point, speakers that are in the 90-plus-dB category will make for optimum system synergy in most rooms.</p>
<p><strong><a rel="attachment wp-att-11612" href="http://www.tonepublications.com/review/primaluna-prologue-premium-stereo-power-amplifier/attachment/olympus-digital-camera-192/"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11612" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.tonepublications.com/media/365.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="512" /></a>Additional Listening</strong></p>
<p>By Jeff Dorgay</p>
<p>As Jerold mentioned, I’ve been listening to PrimaLuna amplifiers since the company introduced the original ProLogue One almost 10 years ago.* It’s almost like <em>TONEAudio </em>and PrimaLuna have grown up together.* That original amplifier is still in my family and, with a replacement set of power tubes, it keeps playing music on a daily basis without bother.</p>
<p>It’s been fun watching the PrimaLuna products evolve over the years into a more fleshed out line, with each model revealing more music than the one before. *Putting the ProLogue Premium stereo power amp through its paces is a joy, with the matching preamplifier and a few other examples I have on hand.* If you don’t need a built-in phonostage (and like your garanimals to match), the $2,199 ProLogue Premium Preamplifier makes for killer a setup with the Premium power amp.* The preamp is perfectly matched to the power amp electrically and stylistically, and pairing the two together will easily fool you and your friends into thinking you spent a lot more scratch on your system.* Many of my old-school buddies were having visions of vintage McIntosh in their heads, when I had this PrimaLuna combo connected to a mint pair of JBL L100 speakers.</p>
<p>Cranking up Judas Priest’s <em>Screaming for Vengeance </em>(on the matching PrimaLuna CD player we reviewed a few months ago) is a little slice of heavy-metal heaven—for a minute I was worried I might just blow up those JBLs, like I did back in the day.* The smooth sound of this PrimaLuna front-end package does not disappoint.<br />Another, more modern speaker that is a spectacular match with 35 watts per channel of tube power is Vienna Acoustics’ Mozart Grand.* The speakers have a 90-dB-sensitivity rating and a very gentle first-order crossover, but the ProLogue never runs out of gas when powering them.* And at about $3,500 a pair, the Mozart speakers won’t put you in the poorhouse.* Those on a tighter budget, consider a pair of Vandersteen 1Cs, which have the same high sensitivity, but are only $1,200 a pair.</p>
<p>Back when Kevin Deal and I sold mid-fi gear in stereo shops reminiscent of the one in the movie <em>Ruthless People</em> (1986),<em> </em>we used to describe gear as being more suited to rock or classical, etc., etc.* But the PrimaLuna electronics are a little bit of magic:* They play everything well, yet they inject just enough of that tubey warmth to make the bulk of your music collection sound much better than you’d expect it to.* This is a godsend for those having a mostly digital music collection, MP3s or CDs.</p>
<p>For this amp, I took the time to swap output tubes.* A set of super high zoot NOS 6550s or a new set of EAT KT88s, both of which will set you back about $1,500, but fear not, there are tons of great new EL-34 tubes in the $25-$50 range that sound fantastic. The extra midrange warmth and liquidity they provide will have you wondering if you ever need another amp. *And should a tube fail at an inopportune moment, the Adaptive AutoBias will even keep the amp purring along with a mixed set of output tubes. You’d be surprised at how many hardcore audiophiles have gone full circle back to the simplicity of an EL-34 amplifier paired with moderately efficient speakers.* This is an amplifier you can either start your tube journey with, or live with happily ever after.</p>
<p>With vintage Luxman, Marantz and McIntosh tube amplifiers fetching crazy money on the used market these days (not to mention their questionable reliability), make your life easy:* Put a PrimaLuna Prologue Premium between your speakers and just dig it.* You’ll be glad you did.</p>
<p><strong>PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium Stereo Power Amplifier</strong><strong> </strong></p>
<p>MSRP:* $2,299</p>
<p><a href="http://www.primaluna-usa.com/">www.primaluna-usa.com</a></p>
<p>Peripherals</p>
<table width="100%" align="left" class="easy-table easy-table-default "><tbody readability="5"><tr readability="2"><td>Digital Source</td>
<td>PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium CD Player * *dCS Debussy</td>
</tr><tr readability="2"><td>Analog Source</td>
<td>Rega RP6w/Exact * *Monk Audio Phono Pre</td>
</tr><tr readability="2"><td>Preamplifier</td>
<td>PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium * *VTL TL-5.5Mk. II</td>
</tr><tr readability="2"><td>Speakers</td>
<td>Lawrence Audio Violin * *Dynaudio Confidence C1 II</td>
</tr><tr readability="2"><td>Cables</td>
<td>AudioQuest King Cobra * *Furutech LineFlux and SpeakerFlux</td>
</tr></tbody></table>
[Source: http://www.tonepublications.com/review/primaluna-prologue-premium-stereo-power-amplifier/]
<p>Popping off the bottom cover reveals ceramic tube sockets and Nichicon and Solen capacitors flanked by premium resistors, along with newly designed output and power transformers. *Wiring is all point-to point and meticulously done by hand, which is one of the reasons PrimaLuna amps have earned such a high reputation for their reliability.* All this precision comes wrapped in a somewhat compact package that weighs nearly 50 pounds, and has an MSRP of $2,299.</p>
<p><strong>Hassle-Free Tube Power</strong></p>
<p>PrimaLuna amplifiers have long been known for their Adaptive AutoBias circuitry, a PrimaLuna trademark that makes traditional tube biasing a thing of the past.* This design allows a wide range of tubes to be used in the output sockets: *KT88 or EL34 tubes work equally well—every ProLogue Premium Series amplifier comes with either set of tubes installed. *(The KT88s produce 36 watts per channel; the EL34s produce 35 watts per channel.) *The new premium version of the amp adds a switch on the side of the chassis, allowing you to optimize the amplifier to your choice of tubes, in order to achieve the lowest possible levels of noise and distortion.</p>
<p>I’m immediately struck by the lively sonic response that the ProLogue provides, with a quick, organic and natural sound that spans all frequency ranges. *This amplifier always feels ready and able to take on whatever you can throw at it—which is exactly what I did.* The ProLogue Premium eliminates the hassle of owning a vacuum-tube-powered amplifier.* It even has a PTP circuit (for Power Transformer Protection) that will protect the amp’s output transformers, should you have an accidental, catastrophic tube failure, which can happen with today’s tubes.</p>
<p>PrimaLuna has updated the front-end circuitry for this amp, which now uses 12AU7 tubes instead of the 12AX7s in the company’s earlier amplifiers.* The inveterate tweak-geek in me could not resist fooling with those 12AU7s, even though the amp sounds great with stock tubes. *New old stock GE tubes render a smoother top-end response, but offer a different listening perspective, as if I had moved back about five rows in the orchestra.* Next, a set of RCA clear tops (with side getters, for the tubeophiles in the audience) provides a big jump in frequency extension, as well as more transparency and a more palpable midrange.* Best of all, Kevin Deal, the owner of Upscale Audio (and the PrimaLuna importer) has a massive cache of these tubes in stock, so you can experiment at will; the 12AU7s aren’t nearly the cost of the 12AX7s. When asked, Deal said that he has “over 10,000 rare and NOS 12AU7s.”</p>
<p>Be aware, I achieved these results with my system; so don’t take them as an absolute, as results will vary on other systems.* But that’s the fun of an amplifier like this:* You can experiment as much or as little as you want—and we haven’t even talked about swapping output tubes.* Don’t forget to save those stock tubes just in case you find yourself lost in the vacuum-tube jungle.</p>
<p><strong><a rel="attachment wp-att-11611" href="http://www.tonepublications.com/review/primaluna-prologue-premium-stereo-power-amplifier/attachment/olympus-digital-camera-191/"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11611" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.tonepublications.com/media/272.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="407" /></a>Love at First Listen</strong></p>
<p>Brian Bromberg’s closely miked contrabass in “The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers,” from his <em>Wood </em>album, instantly confirms the level of full-bodied bass definition the ProLogue Premium provides.* In addition to the solid low-end response, you can clearly hear the creaking and groaning of the instrument, as well as the strings being plucked and slapped on the fretboard.* I’ve never heard this kind of resolution from a vintage Dynaco Stereo 70 (or modded variation on the theme).</p>
<p>Muddy Waters’ album <em>Folk Singer </em>proves a perfect midrange showcase for this amp, which places Waters’ voice firmly at center stage, while simultaneously revealing the ambience in the recording studio present on this intimate performance.* Perhaps the best showcase of any tube amplifier is its ability to convey the sultriness of the female voice, which is another test that the ProLogue Premium passes handily.* I listen to the entire disc of Renée Fleming’s <em>Haunted Heart</em> without pause. *The track “When Did You Leave Heaven?” gives Fleming and the accompanying guitar, courtesy of Bill Frisell, plenty of space without missing a lick of subtlety.</p>
<p><strong>And Secondly</strong></p>
<p>It’s usually a given that vacuum-tube amplifiers excel at revealing low-level detail and vocal tonality, but the ProLogue Premium performs equally well with larger-scale music.* Nelson Riddle’s <em>Nice ‘n’ Easy: The Music of Nelson Riddle </em>is a classic big-band record full of massed horns, which the ProLogue Premium sails through, keeping the horns sorted without becoming harsh or buried in the mix—impressive.</p>
<p>The acid test comes via the Minutemen’s “One Reporter’s Opinion,” from the <em>Double Nickels on the Dime </em>disc. *D. Boon’s AK-47-style guitar playing is present in all its force, Mike Watt’s fluid bass is easy to follow and drummer George Hurley’s seems to punch a hole in my forehead—the PrimaLuna delivers all of this while giving the track the precision and grit on the scale it deserves.* No matter how complex the musical selections, this amplifier does an excellent job keeping pace.</p>
<p><strong><br />I’m a Fan!</strong></p>
<p>I’m taken with this little but heavy amplifier, and can see why our publisher has been an advocate of PrimaLuna since day one.* This amp takes everything I throw at it in stride—always musical, always eager and always evenly balanced in overall presentation.* As with the other PrimaLuna products, the Premium stereo amp represents good value.* This is the perfect power amp for a music lover wanting to assemble a high performance system on a tight budget.* The ProLogue Premium is worth every penny.</p>
<p>I will say that one must be realistic when pairing the Premium with his or her speakers and listening environment. *Although the volume levels I’m able to achieve with this amp in my largish room are quite satisfying, 35 watts only go so far—even great watts such as these.* The amp does clip slightly when I get lead-footed with the volume.* To its credit, when the amp does clip, it does so with gentle compression instead of just falling apart.* To this point, speakers that are in the 90-plus-dB category will make for optimum system synergy in most rooms.</p>
<p><strong><a rel="attachment wp-att-11612" href="http://www.tonepublications.com/review/primaluna-prologue-premium-stereo-power-amplifier/attachment/olympus-digital-camera-192/"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11612" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.tonepublications.com/media/365.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="512" /></a>Additional Listening</strong></p>
<p>By Jeff Dorgay</p>
<p>As Jerold mentioned, I’ve been listening to PrimaLuna amplifiers since the company introduced the original ProLogue One almost 10 years ago.* It’s almost like <em>TONEAudio </em>and PrimaLuna have grown up together.* That original amplifier is still in my family and, with a replacement set of power tubes, it keeps playing music on a daily basis without bother.</p>
<p>It’s been fun watching the PrimaLuna products evolve over the years into a more fleshed out line, with each model revealing more music than the one before. *Putting the ProLogue Premium stereo power amp through its paces is a joy, with the matching preamplifier and a few other examples I have on hand.* If you don’t need a built-in phonostage (and like your garanimals to match), the $2,199 ProLogue Premium Preamplifier makes for killer a setup with the Premium power amp.* The preamp is perfectly matched to the power amp electrically and stylistically, and pairing the two together will easily fool you and your friends into thinking you spent a lot more scratch on your system.* Many of my old-school buddies were having visions of vintage McIntosh in their heads, when I had this PrimaLuna combo connected to a mint pair of JBL L100 speakers.</p>
<p>Cranking up Judas Priest’s <em>Screaming for Vengeance </em>(on the matching PrimaLuna CD player we reviewed a few months ago) is a little slice of heavy-metal heaven—for a minute I was worried I might just blow up those JBLs, like I did back in the day.* The smooth sound of this PrimaLuna front-end package does not disappoint.<br />Another, more modern speaker that is a spectacular match with 35 watts per channel of tube power is Vienna Acoustics’ Mozart Grand.* The speakers have a 90-dB-sensitivity rating and a very gentle first-order crossover, but the ProLogue never runs out of gas when powering them.* And at about $3,500 a pair, the Mozart speakers won’t put you in the poorhouse.* Those on a tighter budget, consider a pair of Vandersteen 1Cs, which have the same high sensitivity, but are only $1,200 a pair.</p>
<p>Back when Kevin Deal and I sold mid-fi gear in stereo shops reminiscent of the one in the movie <em>Ruthless People</em> (1986),<em> </em>we used to describe gear as being more suited to rock or classical, etc., etc.* But the PrimaLuna electronics are a little bit of magic:* They play everything well, yet they inject just enough of that tubey warmth to make the bulk of your music collection sound much better than you’d expect it to.* This is a godsend for those having a mostly digital music collection, MP3s or CDs.</p>
<p>For this amp, I took the time to swap output tubes.* A set of super high zoot NOS 6550s or a new set of EAT KT88s, both of which will set you back about $1,500, but fear not, there are tons of great new EL-34 tubes in the $25-$50 range that sound fantastic. The extra midrange warmth and liquidity they provide will have you wondering if you ever need another amp. *And should a tube fail at an inopportune moment, the Adaptive AutoBias will even keep the amp purring along with a mixed set of output tubes. You’d be surprised at how many hardcore audiophiles have gone full circle back to the simplicity of an EL-34 amplifier paired with moderately efficient speakers.* This is an amplifier you can either start your tube journey with, or live with happily ever after.</p>
<p>With vintage Luxman, Marantz and McIntosh tube amplifiers fetching crazy money on the used market these days (not to mention their questionable reliability), make your life easy:* Put a PrimaLuna Prologue Premium between your speakers and just dig it.* You’ll be glad you did.</p>
<p><strong>PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium Stereo Power Amplifier</strong><strong> </strong></p>
<p>MSRP:* $2,299</p>
<p><a href="http://www.primaluna-usa.com/">www.primaluna-usa.com</a></p>
<p>Peripherals</p>
<table width="100%" align="left" class="easy-table easy-table-default "><tbody readability="5"><tr readability="2"><td>Digital Source</td>
<td>PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium CD Player * *dCS Debussy</td>
</tr><tr readability="2"><td>Analog Source</td>
<td>Rega RP6w/Exact * *Monk Audio Phono Pre</td>
</tr><tr readability="2"><td>Preamplifier</td>
<td>PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium * *VTL TL-5.5Mk. II</td>
</tr><tr readability="2"><td>Speakers</td>
<td>Lawrence Audio Violin * *Dynaudio Confidence C1 II</td>
</tr><tr readability="2"><td>Cables</td>
<td>AudioQuest King Cobra * *Furutech LineFlux and SpeakerFlux</td>
</tr></tbody></table>
[Source: http://www.tonepublications.com/review/primaluna-prologue-premium-stereo-power-amplifier/]