Primaluna Evo 400 Valve Pre-amplifier

Ac offset killer – a PrimaLuna exclusive

AC Offset Killer is about goose bumps. The ones you get when music comes out of a background so quiet, you may say to yourself “Just how is this possible?” PrimaLuna custom winds their own massive toroidal power transformers that are low in hum and EMI. But they wanted more. PrimaLuna`s engineers designed the AC Offset Killer to lower transformer noise to a place no other manufacturer dreams of going, regardless of how bad your electricity is. The result? Sense of space. Texture. The resonance of an acoustic guitar or violin string that seems to trail on forever. The AC Offset Killer will amaze you.

Takman resistors

Easy to identify through their pink color, these premium resistors from Japan are popular with those who rebuild and upgrade their gear. “Modders” love TAKMAN for their low noise, linearity, and musicality.

DuRoch tin foil capacitor

Premium tinfoil capacitors made to PrimaLuna`s specifications are used in the critical signal paths. These are very expensive but the sonic results speak for themselves.

Custom toroidal power transformer

Power transformers generate two types of noise, magnetic and acoustic. That’s why toroidal power transformers are used in the very best audio products. Compared to standard transformers, toroids radiate about 1/10 the magnetic field that pollutes music and obscures detail. Additionally, the absence of an air gap typically means toroids have an 8:1 reduction of acoustic noise. As transformers are the most expensive components in any audio product, manufacturers will even house cheaper C-core and EI-core transformers in an outboard power supply box with an umbilical cable rather than upgrade to an expensive toroid. The increased cost is significant, but PrimaLuna doesn’t cut corners. All PrimaLuna products use massive, potted toroidal transformers. PrimaLuna transformers are enclosed in a metal housing and then potted in a non-microphonic resin to further reduce noise and to protect the windings from moisture and deterioration forever.

Dual-mono design

Expensive and exotic preamplifiers always use a dual-mono design to achieve a level of imaging not possible otherwise. Most manufacturers don’t employ dual-mono because of expense. It requires two power transformers, double regulation circuits, and in fact….everything is double. In effect, dual-mono means building two discrete and separate preamplifiers into one box. It is so expensive to build, it’s a rarity even at the highest price points. All PrimaLuna preamps are dual-mono design for the ultimate in stereo imaging and a sense of space that goes on forever.

Point to point wiring w/Swiss made wire

You spend a lot of money on interconnects. So why have the signal go right from the RCA jacks or loudspeaker terminals into circuit boards with copper traces so thin you can hardly see them? What’s high-end about that?

PrimaLuna employs Point to Point Wiring on all products. The entire signal path, including resistors and capacitors, is painstakingly hand wired with heavy-gauge cable by craftsman.

EVO 300 and EVO 400 models use Swiss made, silve plated, oxygen free continuous crystal (OCC) copper with a Teflon dielectric in the critical signal path for superior signal speed and increased clarity.

Tube rectified

In the world of preamplifiers, experts agree that tube rectification is the gold standard. It’s quieter than solid state rectification, dropping the noise floor. And it offers the most natural, textured, and vibrant presentation because the circuit is now pure tube. But because it is expensive to implement, you’ll only find it in the top of the line models typically costing many thousands. Finding a preamplifier using one rectifier tube is sweet. PrimaLuna goes even further using two 5AR4 rectifier tubes in a dual-mono design to present your music with a three dimensionality that will give you goosebumps.

Japanese alps blue velvet potentiometer

The best tube preamplifiers use analogue volume controls. Not volume control chips. Look inside the most well known brand of tube preamps and you will see a chip called a DS1666-10 Digital Resistor IC. At Primaluna, they understand the temptation to use this chip as they cost little. The preamplifier will sound fine and be quiet, but true to “chips” it will add an electronic “sheen” to the sound. PrimaLuna prefers analogue. And they use the Gold Standard in motorized potentiometers: The iconic Alps Blue Velvet. Why? Because they track perfectly, stay quiet, and don’t sound like chips!

Super quiet line inputs

Input selector switches leak noise and signals from other sources, as they never turn off the other inputs completely. And, they deteriorate with age, requiring the use of cleaners. Many are mounted on the front panel requiring long runs of wires to the back panel inputs. These wires pick up stray noise from RF and EMI.

PrimaLuna has a better way. Instead of a switch, input selection is done using premium quality sealed relays mounted in the rear where you plug in your components. When an input is selected, that relay closes giving you the best connection possible. All the other relays are left open, so noise and signals from other sources can’t leak in. The signal path is now almost non-existent, so there are no wires to pick up noise.

Smart-gain design

A preamplifier is typically not required to add any gain to your system when you are using it. It is usually lowering gain from the source you are listening to. The number one complaint from audiophiles about preamplifier performance is noise. So why is it that so many manufacturers design preamplifiers with 20 to 27dB of gain? And you wonder why there is “hiss”, and why tubes go noisy or microphonic? PrimaLuna preamplifiers use SmartGain. With a gain specification of only 10.8dB, you will find your PrimaLuna preamplifier is as quiet as a church mouse. If tubes are less than perfect, you may never know it because they are not amplifying as “loud”. High efficiency loudspeaker owner’s rejoice!

Perfectmatch

Another exclusive PrimaLuna feature is PerfectMatch, a circuit designed to present a perfect 100K ohm impedance to your source components. This is vitally important especially for tube source components, such as phonostages and DACs to sound their very best.