Kevin Deal continues…

“When PrimaLuna began as an “Upstart” brand 10 years ago, we were surprised when customers compared us to much older (40 years or more), more established and much more expensive brands. More than a decade later, we’re used to it! There are now dozens of connoisseurs who have switched to PrimaLuna, believing, as we do, that PrimaLuna produces the best tube components available, regardless of price.”

“In any case, we want to know of course the motivation of the customer. So we ask …”

“Did PrimaLuna give you something that compared a little, a lot, or none at all compared to the ARC stuff you had?”

“Sorry for the delayed reply … Busy with family stuff over the holiday. There were many reasons I sold my ARC gear. The first was the two cooling fans on the Power Amp. They drove me nuts. Why build a Power Amp that is very resolving and then have fans that create this constant low level background noise that basically ruins or obscures the high level of resolution?”

“Second, the ARC Preamp utilized a touch screen display and an odd circular volume knob that is spring loaded and does not spin freely and has terrible tactile feedback. Give me a quality volume knob any day. Next, there was the MASSIVE size of the three components (Preamp power supply, Preamp control unit and the Power Amplifier). They simply took up too much space and looked gaudy in my room.”

“ARC makes some very interesting and high quality gear in my opinion. I have owned five different units from them over the years. They have a very distinct sound. In the end and the main reason I sold my ARC Reference gear was because of the overblown soundstage they create. If someone has a huge listening space, this may be a positive. In my relatively small dedicated room (12’ X 15.5’) the mental picture didn’t reconcile with the sonic picture.”

“This sounds odd, but it was really hard to enjoy as it sounded false if you had your eyes open while listening. The other thing is that the bass with ARC is very big and controlled. It is virtually solid state in sound. To some this may be a positive, though to my ears, bass should breathe more and PrimaLuna bass (at least with the HP) sounds more realistic and has more liquidity to it. It basically sounds more realistic to my ears. I have a decent gauge as I have spent a fair amount of time at live concerts with un-amplified instruments. When bass is too controlled, it sounds very “HiFi” to me and less like real music. Just my opinion I suppose…”

“The PrimaLuna HP offers a much more realistic soundstage (large but not overblown) in my room with my gear. It does not sound “Tubey” in my opinion. It certainly does not sound like solid state either, but seems to offer realistic control and at the same time breathes and allows for a “reach out and touch it” presentation that I love.”

All of us at PrimaLuna agree. Thank you!