Don't Put Your Ear to the Tweeter! A Guide to Tube Phonostages with Kevin Deal

First!!!

my prima phono stage is absolutely silent and sounds amazing. it sounds better than my other solid state unit i got rid of. the prima is absolutely great sounding.

Very helpful video Kev

Great review

I would love to hear about how this compares to the Manley Chinook with killer tubes. I can't imagine that it out performs the Chinook at a similar price. The Chinook is an incredible all tube phono pre. It's built like a tank in the US with amazing parts and engineering right down the road from you. It has serious adjustability, and their service is top notch. Manley doesn't have Primaluna shipping fees so theoretically, more money goes into the build. I am all ears and willing to check out this EVO 100 if you guys think it outperforms the Chinook. Synergy is key so maybe it would in a Primaluna system? Astecially it would match better for sure.

Ahhh That’s and advertising…

I own a pair of EVO400 amps running as monoblocks and an EVE400 Pre. I purchased the EVO100 Phonostage and unfortunately it didn't work for me. I would suggest trying this before you buy, preferably in your system with your existing components. I wasn't able to do that and purchased one without hearing it first, based off my great experience with the Primaluna Amps and Preamp. I was extremely disappointed and didn't keep it.

Long overdue and much appreciated...Thanks!

A Tube and transformer based Phonostage doesn't have to be noisy.

My Ear Yoshino 912 isn't the first EAR preamp to use internal step-up transformers for moving-coil cartridge gain, but it is the first in which those trannies are addressed by two different pairs of phono inputs.

There's a selector knob on the front panel for choosing which input pair is active, as well as another for selecting the desired transformer primary—3, 6, 12, and 40 ohms are the nominal impedances, corresponding with respective additional gains of 30, 26, 23, and 20dB—or for bypassing the step-up transformer altogether.

As with a moving-magnet cartridge. The EAR 912's phono section remains iron-rich even so: Its RIAA equalization circuit uses a pair of custom-wound inductors, which de Paravicini selected for being less prone to overloading and ringing than capacitors, and the transition from phono stage to line stage is accomplished with a pair of similarly bespoke coupling transformers.

The transformer approach was chosen not only for electrical efficiency and purity of sound, but for flexibility in use: A three-position attenuation knob on the front panel allows the user to choose between multiple secondary windings on the interstage coupling transformers—for full gain, –6dB, or –12dB. That control, used in tandem with the one for selecting the appropriate step-up transformer primary windings and the step-up transformer bypass knob, provided the highest level of flexibility. Result a completely quiet tube MC/MM phono stage within a preamp that by the clever design and implimentation using great components, more than holds its own with the esoterica stand alone phonostages.

I'm blown away with this preamp and how it sounds with vinyl depends on the vinyl content. What I mean us its true to the recording If its meant to be romantic and delicate it is, if its meant to sound huge and powerful it is.

It has a fleet footed controlled approach to massive swings in dynamics.

Don't get me started on the line stages wow and unlike those hideous swing meters on the Big Apple produced "luxury" audio product, the 912 has properly accurate VU metres give away its pro studio origins.

A timeless Tim de Pavaracini masterpiece❤

Don't put your ear to the tweeter because the noise will get much worse as tubes age. Ignorance is bliss!

Lovely ! Makes total sense ! We miss Kat !!!

How come you dropped your closing line? I miss it

Excellent video as always. Love PrimaLuna.

Great video, glad to hear you say,set it to your listening preference.

❤

I recently purchased a preowned 300B amp built by a retired RCA recording engineer. I was told upfront that it is designed using AC heated tubes which causes it to hum somewhat. In the beginning it did bother me, but now I just listen to the warm beautiful sound it makes, which is why I bought it, and don’t even notice that hum.

I have purchased many expensive products from Upscale with great advice guiding me. However, this phono stage was really a disappointment. I tried everything to get it to sound good even some tube rolling and could not get it to perform. I struggle to understand all the hype with this phono stage.

UPSCALE AUDIO Could you answer a question for me:
If you have a speaker with an impedance of 6ohms,
which post should it be connected to, the 4ohms or the 8ohms???

The surface noise of a record is far greater that the noise of a tube phono stage. Use tube and enjoy their magic!

Fantastic phonostage to listen to and to look at. It gets much better with more usage time on it. Burn in is real and you must be patient. Wouldn’t trade it for anything! Pure magic! Nice job Primaluna!