Biggest jump in SQ i've experienced in a decade...

[jaxwired]

I've been an audiophile for 25 years. In the last decade alone I've tired many high end brands for my electronics including conrad johnson, ARC, bryston, parasound JC, NAD master, perreaux, Cary, musical fidelity, krell, belles, and more that I can no longer remember. Recently I've been very happy with the latest wyred4sound gear. I have the brand new ST1000 mkii amp (which I received pre-release about 6 months ago) and the new wyred DAC2dsdSE. I've been running the DAC straight into the amp as I only listen to one source, my CAPS music server. I have PMC IB2S speakers. The sound has been very good. I briefly tried a musical fidelity preamp in between the DAC and the amp but found the sound more immediate and better overall running the DAC straight into the amp. Well that all changed on Friday. I picked up a PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium preamp. The tubes have been upgraded to vintage mullards. Plugged this baby into my system on Friday after work and WOW!!!!! Either I got lucky with once in a lifetime component synergy or this preamp is just the best thing ever! Biggest single leap in sound quality I've experienced. I was up till 2am on Friday because I couldn't pull myself away. This remote controlled preamp falls into the affordable category or even budget category of high end audio. It retail for just $2200 brand new. Add $200 for upgraded tubes and you're still talking crazy bargain. And the build quality rivals the best I've ever owned. The sound I'm getting is so natural and real it's beyond amazing. This setup is giving the best sound I've ever achieved. Piano which is for me the most telling when it comes to how realistic the reproduction is, is stunningly live sounding with exactly the right amount of weight with pristine clarity but zero glare or ringing. Bass is deep with massive impact but it's oh so textured and clean. image-2862416822.jpg image-563599430.jpg image-2194593925.jpg

[redm]

Congratulations on the successful synergy. The previous versions of this model got good reviews too from several sources.

[jdandy]

jaxwired.......I am not surprised to hear how much you are enjoying the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium preamplifier. I was quite impressed with the PrimaLuna Prologue Premium integrated amplifier that I auditioned and reviewed for Audio Aficionado last August. I also agree with your comment on the build quality. PrimaLuna components are impressive.

http://www.audioaficionado.org/pre-a...er-review.html

[Still-One]

jaxwired

It is always fun when you find that unexpected piece of gear that makes your system sing. Congratulations on finding the synergy you were looking for.

[jaxwired]

Originally Posted by jdandy

jaxwired.......I am not surprised to hear how much you are enjoying the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium preamplifier. I was quite impressed with the PrimaLuna Prologue Premium integrated amplifier that I auditioned and reviewed for Audio Aficionado last August. I also agree with your comment on the build quality. PrimaLuna components are impressive. http://www.audioaficionado.org/pre-a...er-review.html

Just read your review. Excellent review. Enjoyed it. Thanks!

[Pider]

Originally Posted by jaxwired

Just read your review. Excellent review. Enjoyed it. Thanks!

I just read it, too. Excellent review!

Good to hear of your jump in audio quality. How did you even consider the change? Very digital, then tubes.

[jaxwired]

Originally Posted by Pider

I just read it, too. Excellent review! Good to hear of your jump in audio quality. How did you even consider the change? Very digital, then tubes.

Good question. Well first of all, I've never been anti tubes especially in the preamp. I've tried various tube preamp in the past with varying degrees of success. But this particular preamp was put on my radar by an audiophile buddy of mine. He was going to buy this one off audiogon and the more I read about it the more I wanted to try it. He kindly stepped aside and let me have it. Kinda funny because I told him I'd sell it on to him when I'm done, but now that I've heard it, I told him he's got to find another one. = )

I've been considering various preamps to try because I wanted to keep experimenting with pre vs no pre. Pros and cons to both. So the purchase made sense. I did not expect to like it more than going direct from DAC to amp. I sure as heck didn't expect to like it this much. This thing has a signal to noise ratio of 109db!!! How do you get that with tubes in the circuit???? Awesome!

Today I had to hobble my system by switching to a lesser DAC. I've shipped my wyred DAC back for their new femto clock upgrade. Even with this cheaper DAC I'm getting superb sound.

[cma29]

jaxwired - Congratulations on finding the secret sauce! I looked into the preamp and unfortunately it does not support XLR balanced connectors which I need for my system.

[audio badger]

Congratulations on your new addition. I have listened to Prima Luna gear on a couple of occasions and it sounded wonderful. I think the look with the tube cage in place is really elegant.

[Industrial]

Jax:

Seeing as you must have many hours behind the PL how would you describe the sound? I'm very curious about the soundstage on this pre. Love a big/wide/tall soundstage. I might be looking into the dialogue premium pre in the future to pair with my mc452.