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PrimaLuna Dialogue Three Preamp Review

Rate this amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 99 39.0%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 105 41.3%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 42 16.5%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 8 3.1%

  • Total voters
    254
OP
amirm

amirm

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If tubes are so "distorted" and band-width limited then ask yourself why, at audio shows, do many of the high quality speaker manufacturers currently use tube electronics to promote their products?
Because a) they are loaned such gear b) they cater to audiophile myths and c) it is marketing. Equipment sounds good despite these tube products, not because of them.
 

Sal1950

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That is my gross generalization I've gotten after reading through this and many of the other posts on this website.
I'll post the same on the amplifier postings.
You are welcome to state your opinions and also to take some time to learn from the educated folks on this site.
But if you start jumping around and crossposting misinformation all over the site, trolling, the mods will be happy to deal with you.
Now asto your comment. It is perfectly true that tube amp's can be designed to provide a relatively transparent amplification. But it is also perfectly true that a large majority of modern tube amp's are designed to not be transparent and introduce a sound of their own as will the above PrimaLuna
If you like it's sound, that's fine, but it doesn't sound like the master source.
 

BDWoody

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opinions of tube based equipment are completely uninformed about modern high quality tube equipment and therefore fall back on stating gross generalizations of tube equipment sound quality from decades past.

Seems many of those from the past perform better than most of the modern gear you refer to, assuming you are talking about actual signal fidelity.

If tubes are so "distorted" and band-width limited then ask yourself why, at audio shows, do many of the high quality speaker manufacturers currently use tube electronics to promote their products?

Because they can look really nice with all the glowiness, and because there is a lot of mythology surrounding the wonderfulness of tube gear would be my guess.

They don't *have* to be fuzzboxes, even though they often are.

That is my gross generalization I've gotten after reading through this and many of the other posts on this website.
I'll post the same...

One thread is plenty.
 

fpitas

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Seems many of those from the past perform better than most of the modern gear you refer to, assuming you are talking about actual signal fidelity.
Which, I'll add, is the generally shared opinion of the technical guys here.
 

WillB

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"You are welcome to state your opinions and also to take some time to learn from the educated folks on this site.
But if you start jumping around and crossposting misinformation all over the site, trolling, the mods will be happy to deal with you."

So you don't like/agree with my observation of the gross generalizations stated here and you declare it is "misinformation" and threaten to censor me?
That's mature SaL
 

Sal1950

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Seems many of those from the past perform better than most of the modern gear you refer to, assuming you are talking about actual signal fidelity.
That reflects back on a time when the work of real engineers was respected. They were constantly measureing and designing new ways of making the gear of the day more transparent. Once that goal was reached, many/most in the high-end went into reverse gear with a pleasingly distorted sound now being the new goal.

So you don't like/agree with my observation of the gross generalizations stated here and you declare it is "misinformation"
What's mainly generalized is that much of modern tube gear is designed to have a house sound, not to be transparent.
The reviews and numbers don't lie.
and threaten to censor me?
In your first post here you threaten to cross post a rant at tube reviews all over the site.
Crossposting in that manner is considered bad form on any website.
You appeared here already in attack mode, what did you expect.
 

BDWoody

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"You are welcome to state your opinions and also to take some time to learn from the educated folks on this site.
But if you start jumping around and crossposting misinformation all over the site, trolling, the mods will be happy to deal with you."

So you don't like/agree with my observation of the gross generalizations stated here and you declare it is "misinformation" and threaten to censor me?
That's mature SaL

It was just fair warning from one of our most senior members. You can take the chip off your shoulder and holster your attitude or you won't be here long.

If you want good faith discussion, by all means have at it. If you're just here to tell us all how wrong we are, in multiple threads, you can figure you've made your point much like many who have come before you.
 

ahofer

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I drIve a stick (I’ve had VW, Mazda, and a BMW M3 all with a stick). I enjoyed them on rural roads (there are many nice low-traffic rural roads in New England), but not so much in stop & go traffic.

I‘ve driven them in Italy as well. Honestly, I hated driving in Italy (around Rome and Tuscany, mostly, but also from Milan into and around the Dolomites). There was a lot of traffic, the police nab you with cameras and send you expensive tickets after you get home, and I generally found the other drivers a little crazy*. Up in the twisties in the hills, you were as likely to get stuck behind bikers or some other obstruction as to be able to open up. But I’m sure some of that was unfamiliarity.

As for tubes, They were fun, but get in the way of just turning on the music and chilling. Particularly the chilling.

*and I live in New York City (and lived in Boston, the #1 crazy driver city, IMO).
 

Ken1951

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"You are welcome to state your opinions and also to take some time to learn from the educated folks on this site.
But if you start jumping around and crossposting misinformation all over the site, trolling, the mods will be happy to deal with you."

So you don't like/agree with my observation of the gross generalizations stated here and you declare it is "misinformation" and threaten to censor me?
That's mature SaL
And if you stick around and read some of the posts from members such as @SIY who have decades of experience with tubes, you might learn something.
 

Talisman

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So you don't like/agree with my observation of the gross generalizations stated here and you declare it is "misinformation" and threaten to censor me?
The point is that there is no generalization. There was no taking a tube preamp and speculating about its likely poor performance.
It was duly measured in various parameters and expressed exactly what is expected from these products, very high distortion.
These are not generalizations, they are measurements.
 

Waxx

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I drIve a stick (I’ve had VW, Mazda, and a BMW M3 all with a stick). I enjoyed them on rural roads (there are many nice low-traffic rural roads in New England), but not so much in stop & go traffic.

I‘ve driven them in Italy as well. Honestly, I hated driving in Italy (around Rome and Tuscany, mostly, but also from Milan into and around the Dolomites). There was a lot of traffic, the police nab you with cameras and send you expensive tickets after you get home, and I generally found the other drivers a little crazy*. Up in the twisties in the hills, you were as likely to get stuck behind bikers or some other obstruction as to be able to open up. But I’m sure some of that was unfamiliarity.
Italy has by far the worst drivers in the EU in my experience, and i've been arround a lot, especially in Italy (region Como, Milan, Bergamo) as my ex is from there.

I also prefer stick drive, altough modern automatic gearboxes are a lot better than 10-20 years ago. I need to switch company cars arround newyear and my new one will be automatic, and i'm not looking forward to it... But I have no choice, all company cars in my company are automatic now as it saves fuel (and so costs) it seems.
 

Waxx

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I wonder if this one would test better?


They are build the same way, the thing that is the upgrade is more fancy parts, so i don't think it will be "better".

But i own an (older) Prima Luna amp, and i love the coloured sound. It's technical inferior to my class D amps, and even my class AB transistor amp, but the sound is very pleasing to the ear. But if you want a clean neutral amp, Prima Luna is not for you.
 

Jimster480

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Italy has by far the worst drivers in the EU in my experience, and i've been arround a lot, especially in Italy (region Como, Milan, Bergamo) as my ex is from there.

I also prefer stick drive, altough modern automatic gearboxes are a lot better than 10-20 years ago. I need to switch company cars arround newyear and my new one will be automatic, and i'm not looking forward to it... But I have no choice, all company cars in my company are automatic now as it saves fuel (and so costs) it seems.
Auto saves fuel? How is that? You basically don't ever see automatics with more gas mileage than manuals...
 

Waxx

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Auto saves fuel? How is that? You basically don't ever see automatics with more gas mileage than manuals...
I don't know, that's what the company says. I prefer manual, and I don't think it makes a difference on gas mileage. I'm an economical driver anyway.
 

Sal1950

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Descartes

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Not so much, John Atkinson measured it way back in 2014 and was "kind" in his evaluations.
Its hard
I don’t trust Stereophile measurements, or any other rags since they have huge conflict of interest as they are paid by these manufacturers through advertising and receive hand selected units from these manufacturers!
 
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