PrimaLuna – USA just concluded T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach, the first large-scale, high-end audio extravaganza in Southern California in nearly a decade. Wow… what a huge success!!! SoCal is home to nearly 20 million people and at times it seemed like half of them were at the Hilton Hotel, passing through the PrimaLuna and Mystere demo rooms.
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The crowd (and seriously, it was large) was a perfect mix of seasoned audiophiles and new-to-high-end aficionados but one thing they had in common was that most were already familiar with the PrimaLuna and Mystere lines and were actively seeking us out. And I promise you, we gave them something to remember
In the PrimaLuna suite, we demo’d the DiaLogue Three preamp, the DiaLogue Seven monoblocks, the prototype of the ProLogue Premium CD player and the stunning NOLA Metro Grand Reference speakers, which captured hearts last month at the high-end show in Munich. What a combination! The DiaLogue components driving the NOLAs attracted crowds 12 deep in a room with seating for five. As one grizzled old veteran who waited for a seat put it, the soundstage presented by this set-up was “wider, taller and deeper than anything I’ve ever heard.”
The Mystere suite featured the acclaimed ca21 preamp, the pa21 stereo amp and NOLA’s 3-way, floor-standing Contenders. By many accounts, this system was considered the affordable “sound of the show.” The question heard most frequently by our staff was, “How much for the whole set up, as is?”
Perhaps the show can be best represented by this observation: It was not unusual to see people in the PrimaLuna suite for 20 minutes (that’s a long time), move to the Mystere room for another 20, then go back to PrimaLuna for still another listen!
All of them were given the best personal, dedicated attention imaginable… by Mr. NOLA himself, Carl Marchisotto, in addition to PrimaLuna-USA CEO Kevin Deal, who knows the line as well as anyone.
As a side note, Deal was also a big hit on his own. Considered a leading expert on vacuum tubes in high end audio, he presented a seminar on just that topic to a standing room only crowd in one of the hotel’s ballrooms.
All in all, you can count this as another “win” for PrimaLuna and Mystere.
Cy Bolton
PrimaLuna – USA
