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PrimaLuna

PrimaLuna EVO 400 Tube Preamplifier

PrimaLuna EVO 400 Tube Preamplifier

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Regular price $4,995 In stock now!
Regular price $4,995 Sale price $4,995 In stock now!
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  • PrimaLuna took near-perfection in the DiaLogue series and perfected it!

    The new EVO Series offers the finest tube gear money can buy. The EVO 400 is the improved DiaLogue Premium HP, and offers world-class components, point-to-point wiring, custom toroidal transformers, and many more features that are simply not available at this pricepoint (sometimes, any pricepoint!) with other brands.

Miraculously, it manages to combine the virtues of modern tube sound with the tonal heft and timbral realism afforded by vintage tube preamps. If purity of expression and tonal realism are two of your sonic priorities, get ready to embrace the EVO 400. In a nutshell, it’s an insane audio bargain that delivers pure tube magic.
— DICK OLSHER, THE ABSOLUTE SOUND
Product of the Year 2020Product of the Year 2023
The PrimaLuna EVO 400 dissolved into the music more completely than the others. It seemed the most highly resolved and naturally transparent. Class A all the way.
— HERB REICHERT, STEREOPHILE, JUN 2019
The EVO series is appropriately named. With nearly 20 years of evolution behind them, all the improvements that have been made from generation to generation add up to something truly spectacular. ... the EVO 400 preamplifier delivers a level of sonic performance that is not uncommon in preamplifiers in the $10k – $30k range.
— JEFF DORGAY, TONE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2019

Compare PrimaLuna construction to any other brand, at any price. You'll be amazed.

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Standard Tube Complement
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What PrimaLuna EVO 400 Tube Preamplifier owners think:

Read Owner Reviews »

(Optional) Internal Moving Magnet Phonostage

Freq. Response 10Hz-50kHz
Distortion & Noise -83dB
Input Impedance 50kΩ
Gain 42dB
Suggested Min. Cartridge Output 2.0 mV

EVO internal phonostage connects directly to one of the existing line inputs on your PrimaLuna EvoLution series Integrated Amp or Preamplifier. No extra plugs or cables required. Uses Surface Mount Technology implementation for the shortest signal path and reduction of parasitic capacitances and inductance.

Made in Holland to ISO 9001 standards, boasting selected components for the best sound quality. Miniature film capacitors, minimelf resistors, and a superior op-amp for lowest noise, highest speed, and robust drive. Low impedance electrolytics and a super low noise power supply results in a turntable experience with goose bumps!

Suitable for both moving magnet and high-output moving coil cartridges. Can be installed any time (requires basic soldering skills) or installed at time of purchase (no installation fee).

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 our own massive toroidal power transformers that are low in hum and EMI. But we wanted more. Our 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

If you bought a lesser amplifier, you would pay hundreds to make this upgrade. 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.

Dual Toroidal Power Transformers

One of the best headphone amps in the world. And the only amp that lets you listen with either the warmth of Triode or the wide-bandwidth of Ultra-linear operation at the push of a button! Most tube integrated amps and preamps use a solid state op-amp chip for running headphones. Stand alone tube headphone amps will vary in quality like any other tube amp. Headphones are simply small speakers that require less power. Some amps will use smaller output tubes that groan to have enough dissipation to run power-hungry planar headphones. Other brands, including those costing $5,000 or more like Mal Valve, will use larger output tubes, then use a voltage divider network to drop the power down to an acceptable level for headphones. This is how we do it. We simply took advantage of the fact that we make the best tube integrated amplifiers. Now you don't have to pay for a separate state of the art headphone amp. PrimaLuna integrateds are the favorite of owners who use everything from Audeze to Hifiman to Sennheiser!

Tube Rectified

In the world of preamps, 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  $10,000 or more. Finding a preamp 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 preamps 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, we understand the temptation to use this chip as they cost $4 each (half that in quantity!). The preamp will sound fine and be quiet, but true to “chips” it will add an electronic “sheen” to the sound. PrimaLuna prefers analogue. And we 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!

Superquiet 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.

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 speaker 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, silver-plated, oxygen-free continuous crystal (OCC) copper with a Teflon dielectric in the critical signal path for superior signal speed and increased clarity.

No Internal DAC / No Internal Phonostage (sub of p2p wiring)

Never buy an integrated amp with an internal DAC. Why? Because digital changes, and history shows that integrated amps with “old” digital become unwanted and have almost no resale value. 

Built in phonostages are “throw in” and are rarely good quality because manufacturers assume 90% of buyers won’t use them. The external phonostage market is very competitive. You can get something much better for as little as $200, and buy one that actually meets your cartridges needs and YOUR budget.

Dual-Mono Design

Expensive and exotic preamps 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 transformersdouble regulation circuits, and in fact….everything is double. In effect, dual-mono means building two discrete and separate preamps into one box. It is so expensive to build, it’s a rarity even at the highest price pointsAll PrimaLuna preamps are dual-mono for the ultimate in stereo imaging and a sense of space that goes on forever.  

Smartgain 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 preamp performance is noise. So why is it that so many manufacturers design preamps with 20 to 27dB of gain? And you wonder why there is "hiss", and why tubes go noisy or microphonic? PrimaLuna preamps use SmartGain. With a gain specification of only 12dB, you will find your PrimaLuna preamp 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 speaker 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.

PrimaLuna Preamp Feature Comparison

EVO 400

EVO 300

EVO 200

EVO 100

Price
XLR
Tape Out
Swiss Made Wiring
Takman Resistors
DuRoch Tinfoil Capacitors
AC Offset Killer
SuperQuiet Inputs
Dual Mono Topology
Vacuum Tube Rectified
Point-to-Point Wiring
Remote Control
Custom Potted Toroidal Power Transformers
ALPS Blue Velvet Potentiometer
Home Theater Pass-Through