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| Thermionic valves- the warmth and the glow... | | Date Created: Dec 02, 2006, 10:57 PM |
 Well... I took the plunge and the Musical Fidelity A3.5 integrated (solid state aka transistor) is traded for a PrimaLuna ProLogue Two integrated (tube aka thermionic valve).
The unit isn't really run-in yet so I haven't really done critical listening but right off the bat, with just about 5 hours of casual radio/iTunes listening and a couple of CDs:
- warmth/liquidity/sweetness. These three words sum it up. Very noticeable difference compared to the A3.5. When Rachael Yamagata starts with the opening verse of "Be Your Love" [Happenstance], her sultry, smokey voice just grabs hold of you. A little bit of Holly Cole confirms it. The midrange, especially vocals are just amazing. Aurally orgasmic?
- bass not as tight or fast. Valves are not known for fast/tight/ultra defined bass. It isn't bad but on some music, particularly electronica/dance, there is sense the lower octaves are a tiny bit detached from the music. Definitely not quite the pace & rhythm I'm used to with solid state gear. Being my first all tube device (not counting my tube output buffer for the DAC or my headphone amplifier), I don't know if this is going to be an issue over the long run... it does music right in so many other ways.
- roll-off of frequency extremes, particularly the highs. Doesn't seem to be quite as much air in the high treble. Some overly hot recordings sound really bright with the A3.5. Not so with this ProLogue Two. Perhaps there isn't as much energy in the top octaves. or there is a bit of bandwidth limitation. Maybe the Termignoni exhaust is starting to damage my hearing...
I am not going to say the new amp is more musical- it's too soon to tell, but I will say so far, it's living up to my expectations and then some... and without the big negatives I was dreading. |
 This might get a little chuckle out of some of my friends... the PrimaLuna logo is a Ducati logo, inverted and reversed. :D
And although it doesn't put out heat like the catalytic converter did prior to the Termignoni kit, it does a pretty fair simulation. Toasty! Doubles as a space heater in these cold months to come. |
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