Chuck Lawrence

“I purchased this integrated amp in Nov. 2017 and held off on writing a review until I lived with it for a while. First, a little background. My gear is set up in a dedicated 2 channel audio room that has been well treated with a combo of corner traps, first reflection sound absorption panels and diffusion panels. My speakers are 2-way British floor standers, they are a transmission line design. I was using a new McIntosh MAC6700 integrated/receiver rated at 200 wpc. For vinyl listening, I was using the onboard phono section in the MAC. I added 2 sealed subs to fill the lower frequencies. I found I was just not happy with the sound I was getting, the high's and low's were there but midrange seemed lacking to me. I played with speaker placement until I was blue in the face and couldn't get the sound I really wanted. I called Kevin and he suggested the PrimaLuna, I was concerned about going from high power to much lower power. I decided to give it a shot and I'm so glad I did! After the stock tubes ran in for a couple hundred hrs, I was finally hearing the beautiful midrange that I was missing. I lost nothing in the way of power, in fact, I had to turn my subs down. I also bought a Manley Labs Chinook SE phono pre and I'm in heaven! I recently rolled in 2 Brimar CV4003 tubes in the front two slots of the PL and the improvement is incredible! I can't recommend this integrated highly enough, thank you Kevin!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“Music from my prior solid state amp sounded almost clinical and no longer moved me - as a result my listening sessions shortened as I quickly became disinterested. In the hopes of fixing this, I decided to try tubes and the PL is apparently not only the prescription but the cure. I play acoustic guitar and sing a bit, solo and with others, so I’m particularly sensitive to the sound of acoustic instruments and unamplified human voice. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (The Harrow and the Harvest - LP) could have been playing right in front of me - the tone of his 1935 Epiphone Olympic archtop unmistakable. Satchmo has never sounded better (Ella and Louis - SACD), his voice warm and vibrant, and Ella clear and pure. All instruments sounded natural. Then I threw in a little live electric blues - Clapton playing Eyesight for the Blind (Crossroads 2, Live in the Seventies - CD). I had to turn it up and there it was - goosebumps. My eyes had been closing, my head swaying, my toes tapping throughout, but the goosebumps sealed the deal. I’m not good at using audio terms to describe what I hear (I really couldn’t care less about that). What I care about is how I relate to the music I’m listening to - am I moved, am I swept up, does everything else seem to fall away? Once I put the PL into my system all of these tests were met and I was thoroughly enjoying the music. This is what I was looking for.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Hi Kevin traded up as you suggested to this my second PL HP integrated amp. Got it yesterday, great service as usual. Started rolling tubes and can tell you I just found my sweet spot for this amp. KT120 as power tubes 12au7 Mullard from India all Cyro from you. You sell the best tubes bar none. Sounds amazing not even broken in. Dynamic open smooth, nirvana. It’s hard to drive B&W 803D speakers they do sound better now and the amp looks amazing at night lite up. Thanks.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Bought this integrated about 2 months ago, tube gear is great for us Canadians during the long frozen season...:-) I was curious to hear if it would better my Audio Research integrated amps... Oh boy, not that the ARC’s arent good but this thing was a true revelation. Stock EL34’s are magical (I agree with most reviewers). Spoke with Kevin deal about getting other tubes, just for the fub of it. Overall this is a true Nirvana audio experience considering its affordable, reliable, powerful and extremely MUSICAL! I have owned lots of SS gear like McIntosh, Moon Simaudio, Sugden... I’m staying with tubes...:-)”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“I've had the PL Dialogue HP integrated amp for awhile now and finally settling in to write a quick review. Bottom line, I love it. Using it with a pair of Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento speakers and Sennheiser HP800S headphones in an office system. Wonderful in all aspects, both as a speaker and headphone amplifier. Speaking of the latter, I have owned some uber expensive headphone amps in the past and this equals or betters all that I have owned or tried. Only drawback headphone-wise is lack of balanced output...however, my experience is that going balanced is WAY overhyped so this omission is of no importance to me. To give one an idea as to the value here, I compared this integrated to my McIntosh C2300 preamp and MC600 monoblock ampliers at home driving Sonus Faber Elipsa SE (Red) speakers. The PL HP integrated walked all over the McIntosh components at a fraction of the cost. Better bass(!), midrange, treble, soundstaging etc. It was so amazing that I called up Uncle Kevvy to talk about "upgrading" my home system to this integrated or the Dialogue Preamp and HP monoblock amps (went the latter route and still extremely glad I did). Still using the stock EL34's in the office system (which sound terrific) but am contemplating KT150's or even 7581A's. Upgraded the driver tubes to Brimar's which was a very nice switch. So, to end this, if I had to do it all over again, would I choose the HP integrated? ABSOLUTELY!”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“The Prima Luna DiaLogue Premium sounds great with B&W 805 D3 speakers. Very impresses. The speakers are NOT easy to drive and this integrated does a great job.”

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Posted 8 years ago

Paul Dickerson

Unverified Reviewer

“Music has always been a passion. Playing drums in a couple of bands growing up. Buying Marantz tuner and amplifier and speakers with a Dual turntable, then a reel to reel all by the time I was 18 years old. I remembered that open sound from the albums. Then video and surround sound took center stage as the kids grew up. Digital music from even the pioneer elite receivers could make you lose the love for music. Fast forward 30 years and I was reintroduced to audio again when I listened to a tube kit. Wow, I had forgotten how open music could sound from speakers. My local audio store thankfully introduced me to Prima Luna. I want with the HP. I love this thing. Music has returned a long with a few of new components to compliment this beauty. Cancelled the cable. :) Welcome back youth!!!”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“If you have landed here, then you are serious about stereo and the soul moving sounds that goes along with better components. You could be a neophyte, seasoned stereophile, a hopeless geared or all three. Certainly you are a music lover and want gear in this realm. Kevin Deal is a unique singular blend. He’s a talker who’s also a great listener. You may know your stuff but you would be very served to listen to him. He loves this stuff and offers a lot. He’s got a great crew too. I had a fine digital integrated amplifier with a robust built in DAC yet knew the the “tube amp” sound I preferred just wasn’t happening with the speakers/system I had it paired it with. Kevin asked all the right questions starting with what speakers (KEF LS50’s with a Bowers & Wilkins Subwoofer) I had and identified that half of my listing is Jazz and the other half is everything else excepting gamelan music, pop, punk and the odd chant. He recommend the PrimaLuna HP with an excellent Ear phone circuit/plug included. The rest of the set up gets passed before entering the Amp into a (no longer made but gettable on ebay) Peachtree audio idoc and this DAC or another good one makes an audible difference; dare I say improvement. The system connectors are good ones but not pricey and speaker wire is heavy gage (also not fancy). The real shocker is that a Sonos tuner (thinner file quality) sounds very good and at the other extreme CD’s and Pono (flac) files are stellar and world rocking. With your eyes closed you’re think your were listing to a very fine LP recording on a monstrous decked out system in components and price. The PrimaLuna HP right out of the box sounded amazing and will tick up as the tubes get broken in. I’m happy! Sure there may there girls I may kiss but the will never be another PrimaLuna (The HP doesn’t rhyme). What sound! Stunning! My wife who could care less noticed the improvement and that benchmark is major.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP Integrated Amplifier Black Reviews