Brought my PrimaLuna Dialogue HP Integrated home last night and hooked it up to my main system, replacing the McIntosh C2300 and MC601's. The PL is outfitted with KT120's and Brimar 12AU7's for the driver tubes. I ran everything in triode mode so only 45 watts per channel were available.
It was an interesting comparison. Soundstaging, especially for vocals, was more laid back and "distant" with the PL, with greater space being presented. Low level details in the plucking of strings or percussion strikes were easier to hear. Generally more detail was evident...not what I expected.
With only 45 watts on hand, the bass seemed not to go as deep, but what was present was punchy, full-sounding and with very good tonal detail. Rocking to AC/DC Thunderstruck just did not have the drive or deep bass that the MC601's could deliver. That was expected. Interesting, however, that in all more "mellow" music I listened to, I never missed the extra wattage.
The PL was less forgiving of poorly recorded material, another small surprise. The aforementioned AC/DC track is a little bright and the PL did not cover that up. Cranking it on the McIntosh equipment is just simply fun, and without any listening fatigue. Doing the same on the PL just led me to turning the volume back down. Now, this may have something to do with distortion due to lack of power, so I cannot completely fault the PL amp.
I will play around more this weekend and will update my thoughts on the comparison. At this point, however, I am quite impressed with how a $4500 tube integrated can compete sonically with much higher priced gear, and that the PL was not embarrassed driving the Sonus Faber Elipsa SE's. Gotta admit that, if the integrated can sound so good, how would a Dialogue Premium Preamp and HP monoblock amps sound?!?
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Kevin
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