PrimaLuna EVO series is here!
It’s always fun to unbox something from PrimaLuna. They pack their electronics better than anyone, except maybe Luxman. But seriously, the three layers of packing – heavy, closed cell foam inserts, and a set of gloves makes sure your PrimaLuna amp or preamp gets out of the box in pristine fashion.
With so much hotly contested talk about component break-in, I’m here to tell you that the EVOs sound incredible right out of the box. Typically, their amplifiers have never taken terribly long to find their voice, so this will only get better.
Driving the mighty Focal Stella Utopia EM’s (with a 94db/1-watt sensitivity) I may not even need to use a pair of EVO 400s in mono configuration, which incidentally offer 144 watts per channel in Ultralinear configuration. Half these numbers with the stereo or mono in Triode mode.
In addition to an even further sonic refinement of the PrimaLuna concept, The top range EVO 400 components offer balanced inputs, giving them a much wider range of flexibility. Where the EVO 400 power amplifier comes shipped with EL-34 tubes (a long time favorite here) as with all other PL amps, you can use a wide range of output tubes to custom tune the sound to your preference. Input tubes are a breeze too, because PL’s designers chose to use the more reasonably priced 12AU7 tubes in the input and driver stages, instead of the ridiculously priced 12AX7s. Those wanting to tube roll and go hard core NOS can still afford 8 12AU7s without raiding the kids college fund.
Of course we need to do more listening, but when something sounds this good right out of the box, cold, it’s a winner.
The PrimaLuna EVO400 amplifier. $4,699 each, $9,398/pair
The PrimaLuna EVO400 preamplifier. $4,499