Thanks Kevin Deal (US PrimaLuna official distributor)
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About beheerder
45 years of being with and in the world of high-end audio equipment. As distributor of Krell, Sonus Faber, Cello, Conrad-Johnson and many more, initiator of brands like Kiseki, Cogelco, AH!, PrimaLuna, Mystère and maybe more to follow.
I finally pulled the trigger. On Feb. 10 (my birthday) I ordered a Primaluna Dialogue 3 pre amp. This my first Tube pre amp. It will be part of my Home Theater set up.
The Dialogue 3 will be hooked up to a pair of modified Threshold T-50 Class A amps.
The TT is a 25 yr old Linn Sondek LP12 and the CD is a Mac MVP-851. The speakers are Aerial Model 6’s. With the pre amp I feel the analog will be complete. If there are any Dialogue 3 owners out there. I’d like to hear how your enjoying it and if your rolling tubes and what are the results are.
Hi Kent,
Congratulations and Happy Birthday! I guess you must have received your DiaLogue 3 by now and hopefully are enjoying it. I don’t know where you are located, but if in US,. Kevin Deal from Upscale Audio will certainly be able to give you some suggestions for alternative tubes. If in Europe: PrimaLuna has GoldLabel 12ax7 and GoldLabel 12au7 tubes of highest sound quality. Maybe something for a next birthday?
The Dialogue 3 should be arriving this week. The spot on the rack is all set. It should keep me warm up here in New Hampshire. Very excited about this purchase looks like a great addition to my sound system.
The good news is there are a jillion 12AU7 choices out there. I am trying to find quiet time to leave a warming rack full of 12AU7’s hot in the sound room and compare with PrimaLuna gear here.
You don’t want to pull tubes in and out willy nilly. You’ll get confused. Or at least I do. Plus you can make mistakes if you get too crazy.
In NOS (new-old stock, a term that means it’s an old production tube that has not been used) there are Mazda/Cifte which seem to have a little more sparkle. La Radiotechnique, which were made in France in Philips owned factories, and used Philips designs. They seem to have a nice “pop” to them. Meaning a greater difference between light and dark and loud and soft.
Siemens ECC802S have a more pronounced midrange presence. Mullard ribbed plate ECC82 have nice texture, as do the CV4003 which are fab.
The good news is that 12AU7 are plentiful. You can use:
5814, 6189, ECC82, ECC802S, E82CC, 7316, CV4003, and others. All of these mentioned are interchangeable.
The two 12AU7 in the rear position are less picky. The ones in front are more critical. Though all PrimaLuna products are “easy” on the tubes compared to their competitors. Makes it easy.