Primaluna Dialogue 3

5898 Views 10 Replies 4 Participants Last post by JoeESP9, Mar 10, 2011

class a

Discussion Starter · Mar 6, 2011

Just picked up my Primaluna Dialogue tube pre amp w/HT pass through the other day it's still breaking in
but is already starting to impress bigtime. The tube setup consists of 2 x 5A4R's & 4 x 12AU7's. The back has
5 line level RCA inputs 1 pair of tape outputs, 2 pairs of audio outputs and a HT pass through. The remote is brushed black metal not a cheapo plastic device. The pass through is a direct pass through not a unity gain
which eliminates any possible distortion. It is a rather hefty bugger weighing almost 53 lbs. It has a 30 second soft start which helps extend the life of the tubes. I've got modified Threshold T-50's (100 wpc bridged into class a) hooked up to the Prmaluna. The rest of the gear consists of a 25 yr. old Linn Sondek LP12, McIntosh
MVP-851 CD/DVD player and a pair of Aerial Model 6 speakers.

Initial impressions nice sweet top end with some bite (Dylans harmonica has that nice aggressive sound).
The bottom end won't shake the walls but it's tight and tuneful. The soundstage is wide deep and realistic.
Voices are spot on none of that digital haze. I'm going to run w/the stock tubes for awhile and down the road see what would be a good match for my setup.

I know not everyone is into tubes but if you want to add that sound to your HT put this on your demo list.
Musically this pre amp can stand toe to toe w/ BAT, Cary, CJ, ARC, Manly and any other quality high end
tube pre amp. As I'm typing this I'm using the HT pass through and watching the Blu Ray Jeff Becks Rock n Roll
Party a big thumbs up. :sn:

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tesseract

· #2 · Mar 6, 2011

Nice system, Class A. I love Aerial speakers, 20T is the best I have ever heard.

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class a

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 6, 2011

Thanks. Wait till you hear the new 7T's a real HR of Michael Kelly.:T

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skeeter99

· #4 · Mar 8, 2011

I'm gonna play the dumb guy and ask how the HT bypass works. I mean, how is it all wired? So you have the Primaluna BEFORE or AFTER your Pre/Pro? How are the speakers connected? Always to the Primaluna? I've heard of HT Bypass but never how its actually wired in a system

Scott

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tesseract

· #5 · Mar 8, 2011

class a said:
Thanks. Wait till you hear the new 7T's a real HR of Michael Kelly.:T

I'll have to catch them sometime when I am out of town. I just heard our local dealer is packing up. :rolleyesno:

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class a

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 8, 2011

skeeter99 said:
I'm gonna play the dumb guy and ask how the HT bypass works. I mean, how is it all wired? So you have the Primaluna BEFORE or AFTER your Pre/Pro? How are the speakers connected? Always to the Primaluna? I've heard of HT Bypass but never how its actually wired in a system

Scott

Real simple Hook up your CD player and TT to the Primaluna. Then hook up your main speaker amps to the Primaluna. Now you can do stereo on the Primaluna. The next step is on the back of the Primaluna
is a HT output hook this up to the main speaker inputs on your HT processor. If you want CD's just turn on the
Primaluna. If you want movies hit the HT button on the Primaluna and use your HT processor as you normally do. Volumn control for movies and TV will be run by your HT processor. All you need extra is another pair of audio cables. Now you have the best of both worlds pure tube analogue for music and multi channel digital for movies and TV. Most of us can't afford two systems because of space and cost. This is a great way of doing
both. Hope this helped. If I missed anything people please add on.:sn:

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skeeter99

· #7 · Mar 8, 2011

class a said:
Real simple Hook up your CD player and TT to the Primaluna. Then hook up your main speaker amps to the Primaluna. Now you can do stereo on the Primaluna. The next step is on the back of the Primaluna
is a HT output hook this up to the main speaker inputs on your HT processor. If you want CD's just turn on the
Primaluna. If you want movies hit the HT button on the Primaluna and use your HT processor as you normally do. Volumn control for movies and TV will be run by your HT processor. All you need extra is another pair of audio cables. Now you have the best of both worlds pure tube analogue for music and multi channel digital for movies and TV. Most of us can't afford two systems because of space and cost. This is a great way of doing
both. Hope this helped. If I missed anything people please add on.:sn:

Hmm ... maybe I'm still confused but you still need two sets of speaker wires so if you want to listen to tubes, you have the wires hooked up to the speakers that way and if you want to listen to HT you have to hook the speakers then up to the HT receiver? Is the benefit of HT Bypass just making it so you can have your CD and TT and whatever else hooked up to both systems without having to run wires from those components to multiple integrateds? I guess I'm a little confused still, sorry :scratch:

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class a

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 8, 2011

No all it takes is one extra set of interconnects. Your CD player and main speakers go into the Primaluna. On the back of the Primaluna are 2 RCA outputs labeled HT hook the interconnects to your SS Processor main speaker inputs. When the CD is playing the sound will come from the Primaluna. When the HT bypass is activated the audio bypasses the Primaluna and goes directly to your SSP. Sort of opening and closing a water line, water goes to the bathroom and stops hit a switch and the valve opens the flow to the kitchen.
Very simple took me about 5 minutes to do.:sn:

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skeeter99

· #9 · Mar 8, 2011

Interesting. I think it makes sense now. I know I sound like an idiot so I apologize, I'm really not! LOL! Glad you're enjoying it, sorry to get sidetracked on the mechanics of how it works.

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class a

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 8, 2011

No problem. A few years back I didn't know some of this stuff either. My original setup 15 yrs ago was a $100 receiver and a pair of Bose lifestyle speakers. I'm a classic example of what happens when you get bit by the dreaded Audio Bug. It's a fun hobby and with todays technology there's always something exciting on the horizon. Just have fun with it and enjoy the tunes.:sn:

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JoeESP9

· #11 · Mar 10, 2011

I've been with this "passion" for 45+ years. I still learn things that are new to me. That's one of the main reasons for forums like this one.

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