The next day, I played this LP through this system for one of my measurements-oriented audiophile friends. At the end of the concerto, he looked at me and said, "That's not an amp!" To my quizzical expression he responded, "That's a second-harmonic generator!" Sheepishly, I admitted that the sound might be a little rich in even-order harmonics, but then asked him, "What else could sort and display this complex music in such a tactile, spacious, satisfying way?" Timpani were far back but completely fleshed out, still weighty and accurately toned. Piano was front right, solid, and frantic, all in just the right amounts. Wind instruments were anchored, and the preamp exposed the counterpoint of percussion and piano. Rhythms were precise and kept my attention flowing forward. Unlike my visitor, I could not have been more pleased.
I asked Mr. Objectivity how he thought his system would play this giant, rattling Bartók disc. "Terribly!" he mumbled. "But far more accurately!"
To further torture my guest, I put on the Kronos Quartet's recording of John Adams's smart, frolicking John's Book of Alleged Dances (CD, Nonesuch 79465-2). We listened to this fun bit of art music through my Integra DPPS-7.2 DVD-A player (used as a disc transport) and Schiit Audio's Yggdrasil DAC ($2200). Mr. O cringed as I pulled out the CD. When he spotted the Schiit, he rolled his eyes. But when he recognized the veracity, true tones, and vivid textures of David Harrington and John Sherba's fiendishly dancing violins, he didn't cringe and his eyes didn't roll.
I can speak only for my taste, but I swear: Listening to these Alleged Dances through this trio of real-world components gave me levels of robust joy and musical satisfaction that would be hard to match at several times their price. (I was using the $8400/pair DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93 speakers and moderately priced AudioQuest cables and interconnects.)
Late one night, a suave and cultured audio friend, François Saint-Gérand of Mighty Cala Sound, turned me on to a ridiculously hip recording from 1969: Comme à la Radio, by France's most talented avant-garde chanteuse, Brigitte Fontaine (LP, Superior Viaduct SV042). Fontaine (b. 1939) is a novelist, actress, playwright, and poet whose main career has been singing her own art songs and musically collaborating with the likes of Stereolab, Gotan Project, Sonic Youth, Grace Jones, Noir Désir, Archie Shepp, Arno—and, on this album, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and her future husband, Areski Belkacem (b. 1940).
It took only a few seconds of Comme à la Radio for me to realize that Fontaine would become my latest French obsession, following Bardot, Piaf, and Debussy. The way this vivid multi-mono album is constructed puts Fontaine's voice right up close to her microphone. Likewise Areski's melodic recitations and accompaniment on sitar and guitar. This is art and music to die for, and the PrimaLuna preamp made each surprising track sound intense and freshly recorded. This album, recorded 48 years ago, sounded so vivid and exposed that I thought I could sense the magnetic tape passing over the recording heads.
Whatever kind of distortion Mr. O thought the PrimaLuna gear was generating, I couldn't hear any of it. The ProLogue Premium preamplifier let me play this record much louder than I usually would, and still feel relaxed and focused while listening. It also let the music sparkle and scintillate at late-night whisper levels.
Comparison
After I'd substituted Rogue Audio's RP-1 tubed preamplifier ($1695) for the ProLogue Premium, instrumental tones and piano notes felt abbreviated. Attacks seemed minutely suppressed, and decays were attenuated. Perhaps because of this, the Rogue was more intense in boogie factor, which in turn let beats and rhythms hold my attention longer. The Rogue's "shorter" sound made bass feel more taut and muscular—but because of the reduction in harmonics and the attenuation of decays, there seemed to be less of it. Instrumental colors and midrange textures sounded more fully developed through the PrimaLuna. Because of this, the RP-1 was less beautiful in its transparency, and sometimes even noticeably gray. Through the Rogue, details were more finely drawn but seemed to emerge from a drier, shallower space. Conceivably, I'm describing the absence (Rogue) vs the presence (PrimaLuna) of Mr. O's second-order harmonic distortion.
Overall, the Rogue RP-1 felt more masculine and declarative, always marching and battling its way through difficult music. The RP-1 drove like a '69 Camaro Z28. In contrast, the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium drove like a 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider. It seemed more feminine and seductive. It danced, laughed uncontrollably, and sang. It guzzled French wine by the bottle, and would, after enough wine, kiss me full on the lips.
Nevertheless . . .
The ProLogue Premium has a high input impedance of 100k ohms and delivers a fixed gain of 12dB, which is just slightly on the low side of normal. I've been driving the PrimaLuna preamp just perfectly with Schiit's Yggdrasil and Mytek's Brooklyn DACs and a variety of phono stages: the Tavish Design Adagio, Parasound Halo JC 3+, and Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III. Gain-wise, no matter which amp or source I connected it to, the ProLogue's volume control always ended up in that optimal range of 10am–2pm. Like all tubed preamplifiers without cathode-follower outputs, the ProLogue Premium's specified output impedance is high: 2800 ohms. This means it will sound its lively, detailed, frequency-extended best only if you connect it to a power amp with an input impedance of greater than 28k ohms. Barring unusual circumstances, a properly quiet and dynamic source-preamp match should not be difficult to achieve.
That accomplished, you should sense a new, nearly invisible, but tangibly luminous presence in every recording you play. Punch and drive should be obvious, but not overly or solid-state aggressive. You'll notice a feeling of ease and refined forward propulsion. Bass response will feel enjoyably strong, but maybe not as detailed as you're used to with solid-state amplification. Most of all, you should notice the ProLogue Premium's liquid transparency.
I have experienced many of the best and most expensive preamps, and none has been perfectly invisible. Surprisingly few have been more invisible than the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium. With its stock tubes, the ProLogue Premium seemed about 80% invisible, with a forecast of 15% sunny and 5% cloudy skies. Humidity was above 50%. The absolute best tubed or solid-state preamps I've heard have never been more than 90% invisible—or cost less than $10,000.
In nearly two years of use, the ProLogue's stock tubes behaved perfectly: 100% dead quiet and grain-free. Exchanging them for new old stock (NOS) tubes from Amperex, RCA, Mullard, Brimar, or Telefunken will be unlikely to add any invisibleness, but they will adjust, in varying subjective amounts, the sonic weather factors mentioned above. NOS valves might also add force, shimmer, or texture to the sound. Although I didn't experiment with alternate brands of tube, the ProLogue Premium's chassis-mounted tube sockets clearly indicate that it was designed to accommodate this kind of fun, and PrimaLuna devotes a webpage to the subject: www.primaluna-usa.com/tube-rolling.
In the end
I've listened to the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium preamplifier at great length and carefully studied its construction. I've installed the review sample in my system many times and removed it just as often—it's been banged about. So I can say, without doubt, that it's built to last and is musically effective. Its combination of beguiling transparency and dynamic authority reproduces complex music and recordings with ease and élan. In even a very expensive system, it will not set limits on musical enjoyment. As I concluded my review of PrimaLuna's ProLogue Premium power amp: Class A sound at a Class C price.
Late one night, a suave and cultured audio friend, François Saint-Gérand of Mighty Cala Sound, turned me on to a ridiculously hip recording from 1969: Comme à la Radio, by France's most talented avant-garde chanteuse, Brigitte Fontaine (LP, Superior Viaduct SV042). Fontaine (b. 1939) is a novelist, actress, playwright, and poet whose main career has been singing her own art songs and musically collaborating with the likes of Stereolab, Gotan Project, Sonic Youth, Grace Jones, Noir Désir, Archie Shepp, Arno—and, on this album, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and her future husband, Areski Belkacem (b. 1940).
It took only a few seconds of Comme à la Radio for me to realize that Fontaine would become my latest French obsession, following Bardot, Piaf, and Debussy. The way this vivid multi-mono album is constructed puts Fontaine's voice right up close to her microphone. Likewise Areski's melodic recitations and accompaniment on sitar and guitar. This is art and music to die for, and the PrimaLuna preamp made each surprising track sound intense and freshly recorded. This album, recorded 48 years ago, sounded so vivid and exposed that I thought I could sense the magnetic tape passing over the recording heads.
After I'd substituted Rogue Audio's RP-1 tubed preamplifier ($1695) for the ProLogue Premium, instrumental tones and piano notes felt abbreviated. Attacks seemed minutely suppressed, and decays were attenuated. Perhaps because of this, the Rogue was more intense in boogie factor, which in turn let beats and rhythms hold my attention longer. The Rogue's "shorter" sound made bass feel more taut and muscular—but because of the reduction in harmonics and the attenuation of decays, there seemed to be less of it. Instrumental colors and midrange textures sounded more fully developed through the PrimaLuna. Because of this, the RP-1 was less beautiful in its transparency, and sometimes even noticeably gray. Through the Rogue, details were more finely drawn but seemed to emerge from a drier, shallower space. Conceivably, I'm describing the absence (Rogue) vs the presence (PrimaLuna) of Mr. O's second-order harmonic distortion.
The ProLogue Premium has a high input impedance of 100k ohms and delivers a fixed gain of 12dB, which is just slightly on the low side of normal. I've been driving the PrimaLuna preamp just perfectly with Schiit's Yggdrasil and Mytek's Brooklyn DACs and a variety of phono stages: the Tavish Design Adagio, Parasound Halo JC 3+, and Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III. Gain-wise, no matter which amp or source I connected it to, the ProLogue's volume control always ended up in that optimal range of 10am–2pm. Like all tubed preamplifiers without cathode-follower outputs, the ProLogue Premium's specified output impedance is high: 2800 ohms. This means it will sound its lively, detailed, frequency-extended best only if you connect it to a power amp with an input impedance of greater than 28k ohms. Barring unusual circumstances, a properly quiet and dynamic source-preamp match should not be difficult to achieve.
I have experienced many of the best and most expensive preamps, and none has been perfectly invisible. Surprisingly few have been more invisible than the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium. With its stock tubes, the ProLogue Premium seemed about 80% invisible, with a forecast of 15% sunny and 5% cloudy skies. Humidity was above 50%. The absolute best tubed or solid-state preamps I've heard have never been more than 90% invisible—or cost less than $10,000.
In nearly two years of use, the ProLogue's stock tubes behaved perfectly: 100% dead quiet and grain-free. Exchanging them for new old stock (NOS) tubes from Amperex, RCA, Mullard, Brimar, or Telefunken will be unlikely to add any invisibleness, but they will adjust, in varying subjective amounts, the sonic weather factors mentioned above. NOS valves might also add force, shimmer, or texture to the sound. Although I didn't experiment with alternate brands of tube, the ProLogue Premium's chassis-mounted tube sockets clearly indicate that it was designed to accommodate this kind of fun, and PrimaLuna devotes a webpage to the subject: www.primaluna-usa.com/tube-rolling.
I've listened to the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium preamplifier at great length and carefully studied its construction. I've installed the review sample in my system many times and removed it just as often—it's been banged about. So I can say, without doubt, that it's built to last and is musically effective. Its combination of beguiling transparency and dynamic authority reproduces complex music and recordings with ease and élan. In even a very expensive system, it will not set limits on musical enjoyment. As I concluded my review of PrimaLuna's ProLogue Premium power amp: Class A sound at a Class C price.
