I've heard the Primaluna Dac in an all Primaluna system with Dynaudio speakers and it sounded amazing. Still can't get a loaner because the only Prima dealer in my area sells them as soon as he gets them. I bought my Yiggi without hearing it and it sounds good in my bedroom rig At Audio Science Review they didn't like the 2399 Yiggi so if you decide on Yiggi get the most recently update version which costs 2999. The Primaluna is by far the coolest looking Dac I've seen. I want to match it with an all Tube Mcintosh system. MC275 V6, and C2200.

JBT, we are somehow on the same wavelength of thoughts. Of course, having previously owned a MC 275 and C2300, I wondered about the difference between Mcintosh and Primaluna. In my case, after my wife died, I sold everything thing audio for a dime, as I thought I could never enjoy music again, but to my surprise, I just needed time to grieve. Now, more and more, music fills my days, and I find myself constantly planning my next system. My hope is that somehow Primaluna bests Mac, so in that way, I can upgrade my sound and avoid previous associations with unpleasant memories.

ron

The thing about PL that draws me is the tube regulation and rectification. Audio Research’s Ref series preamps do this as well as their Ref CD player. I currently own AR LS-27 pre and Mac MC275 VI amp and it sounds great but both use SS power supply. Nothing wrong there, just wonder how much better they might be with tube power supply.

It is all counter-intuitive with tube rectification. Seems the simple job of converting AC to DC should not matter much between tube and SS rectification. That couldn't be further from the truth. Tube gear does sound quite different with different tube rectification and certainly sounds different from SS rectification. Among the guitar players that rely on amps for playback, this tube vs SS rectification is a known variable and often discussed topic. :yes: It is no different for high end audio components.

In a nutshell,

You want fast, punchy, articulate, and accurate dynamics type of sound? Then you want SS rectification which is fast, does not sag and has little internal resistance.

You want a slightly more bottom end saggy, bloomy and lush type of sound, tube rectification will deliver. It has more internal resistance and can't quite keep up with dynamics without altering the response a bit from the sag.

Low frequency notes take more current through the power tubes to reproduce. This increased current causes a voltage drop in the rectifier tube and the amp loses power. So, when more power is actually needed, the amp gives less.


The above applies to amplifiers with loads. How any of this applies to components with less of a load such as preamps and digital is less clear but noticeable none the less. What holds true for amplifiers, seems to follow in other components but perhaps with a less noticeable or drastic effect.

I love Tube rectification, for whatever reason that sounds the most musical and pleasing to my ears and unfortunately the really good rectifiers (I use them only in headphone amps) are really NOT cheap. :no:

Good stuff Serge. I’ve read similar comments from other folks especially your sounds more natural comment.

My understanding is that PL offer a 30-day trial... may be the only way to put this to rest :scratch2:
Wes

As does Schiit for 15 days minus a 5% restocking fee I believe. You could have a shootout to be sure. :music:

:tresbon:

The administrator of the ASR forum apparently has on ongoing bias against anything from Schiit Audio, so I wouldn't give too much consideration to their negative comments on the Yggdrasil DAC. :scratch2: I haven't seen anything about a version of the Yggy going for $2,999, their website still shows the current version at $2,399 which already includes their Analog 2 outputs. I'd be curious to know where you heard about this new $2,999 version and any details about the changes it incorporates. I've heard that they're working on an all new USB implementation that is claimed to be revolutionary, but don't think it's yet available. Thanks in advance for sharing what you know! :music:

I know about the bias charge against Schitt audio. Couple different forums filled with angry Schitt owner trashing the guy. :banana: I'm not an engineer so I don't have any idea. I haven't seen any evidence Amir at Audio Science is a fraud or doesn't know what he's talking about. It is what it is.

Music is one of the great joys in my life and my Mcintosh MC275 v6 and c2200 is a very magical sounding system. Beautiful. Primaluna builds really high quality products and is cheaper than McIntosh. I heard the all new Primaluna EVO line when I auditioned the DAC. Great sounding system and it didn't have any problems driving the Dynaudio speakers.


Ron, it's good that you're enjoying music again!