YES, Ransom,
You can never have too much power, even tube power!!!! The KT 150s are a popular choice, especially for those whose speakers are not very efficient. With the T Ones though, it is not so big a deal. I do agree with rolling those tubes, and your recommendation to roll the 12AU7s is good advice. Lots of better choices out there than the ones that usually come from the manufacturer. Fun checking out NOS tubes.
God Bless,
Wayne

Ransom wrote: Well, I wish I had seen this topic a few weeks ago so I could chime in, but hearing is believing so you didn't need my help anyhow. You made a good choice.

I've had a Prima Luna Dialogue (non-HP) powering some T2s for 3 years now and have loved them. Switching to a Marantz AVR briefly that had "more power" was good for a laugh! I'd heard the T2s with some Emotiva monoblocks and a Parasound A21 also, all with substantially more power and still preferred the mere 42 watts or so provided by the Prima Luna.

Anyhow, I'm glad you pulled the trigger and I'm SO JEALOUS!!! The T1 with the HP line from Prima Luna is precisely what I would go to, assuming of course I can't be tempted to go with the References when they release.

A few comments so I can offer some advice though, especially if you are new to tubes. If you have already purchased the amp with the 88s, no sweat, but if you have the stock 34s in there still consider getting the KT150s instead of the 88s. Prima Luna fans and even Kevin Deal himself run these and apparently they are most people's favorite. Read around a bit and you will find people describing why they prefer them over most other options. By the way, with 8 KT150 tubes, you would be at 96watts of Class A (not too shabby, right Wayne?). It isn't a cheap option, but the way people talk about them, it is worth some consideration.

If you haven't changed out the center two 12AU7s I would recommend upgrading them to your sound preferences. I went with the CIFTEs to further improve on the already impressive imaging of the Tritons and that was an inexpensive upgrade. There are certainly other options. I would talk to Kevin Deal of Prima Luna and see what he may recommend. He is the real expert in that arena.

I should add that I've used the bypass mode along with an AVR powering centers and rear with nice results. I even had a Rythmik 15" sub for greatly improved bass over the T2s for below 20hz, although that was overkill except for perhaps the true baseheads out there. All of this room shaking for movies, along with the SuperCenter XL in the mix and I never had any issue with distortion from the tubes. Considering I had two triton subs running and a 15" hitting with authority to 12 hz and I had no issues, I think you will be just fine and will enjoy adding HT in the future!

I'm very curious about the DirectStream DAC and, again, I'm super jealous that you got to hear these things together (Ahhh! It's not fair!!). For my budget at the time, I checked out the Schitt Yggdrasil and the Electrocompaniet ECD 2 DACs to go with the T2s and went with the latter. These are both in the $2,300 range and performed fantastic for that price point. Can you say anything about how the DirectStream compared to the Jr version or any other DACs you may have heard?

I wonder how much better it may be than the Electro I have now and what the real differences may be in SQ between the Jr and and the full. Psaudio says they made it their goal to shave off expenses in cosmetics primarily, but there is still the issue of the improved PSU, which is no small matter in DACs.

Sandy apparently favors the Directstream, so I wonder what he would have to say about the SQ differences of the DACS I've mentioned.. Hmm.

Hi mate! Thanks for the reply.

Yes I was going to get your model initially for budgetary reasons but I said what the heck, this may be the last amp I ever get, hopefully with only ongoing tube replacement or rolling costs from now on.

I saw that Sandy had been using the PS Audio Dac and Transport in many shows so I thought what the heck, let's give it a listen! I can't afford both and all my listening is digital files now (CD rips and Hi Res downloads) so I was only keen on the DirectStream Dac with the Bridge II network card. Together with Roon it's a killer combination.

Unfortunately I didn't try out the DSD Jnr ! I ended up getting the Snr model at ex demo pricing so I went straight for the big daddy. This combination of gear has to last minimum 5 years for the damage it's done to my wallet lol

Here's a question for you and all you TOOB experts. I've asked Kevin the same question but he must still be on holidays, which is understandable. When I turn on the Dialogue Premium HP I notice one of the KT88's has a blue light on the top plate, whereas all the other power tubes have only the blue light on the glass (which is normal I believe?). This blue light on the top plate disappears after 5 minutes though. Should I be concerned

Photo attached

Thanks guys

PS yes I will tube roll as soon as one of the KT88's dies. I couldn't afford 8 x KT150's at the time. There was a crazy sale with the KT88's included and factory fitted so I rolled with that (pun intended lol)

Thanks again gents !

PS this is from the PrimaLuna website:

"Some of my power tubes have this eerie blue glow on the glass. Is that normal?

Yes, that is normal for power tubes. That blue glow results from stray electrons bouncing off the glass. Some tubes will have a more noticeable glow than others, even amongst a matched set of tubes. Sometimes the glow will burn off, that is also normal. What is NOT normal is a bright blue or purple glow or flash coming from inside the plate structure of the power tube. If you see a bright blue or purple glow coming from inside the plates, or if you ever notice a bright flash from a power tube, turn your amp off immediately and replace the tube."


I fear this is what I'm seeing, on the plate for that one tube

Very true Wayne! The Tritons, both T1 and T2, are plenty efficient regardless of the route.

I think the dynamics and overall performance of the 150s is a greater draw than the power increase, although as you point out, you can never have too much power.

EM84, I think they are simply something to look forward to.

Em84 wrote: PS this is from the PrimaLuna website:

"Some of my power tubes have this eerie blue glow on the glass. Is that normal?

Yes, that is normal for power tubes. That blue glow results from stray electrons bouncing off the glass. Some tubes will have a more noticeable glow than others, even amongst a matched set of tubes. Sometimes the glow will burn off, that is also normal. What is NOT normal is a bright blue or purple glow or flash coming from inside the plate structure of the power tube. If you see a bright blue or purple glow coming from inside the plates, or if you ever notice a bright flash from a power tube, turn your amp off immediately and replace the tube."


I fear this is what I'm seeing, on the plate for that one tube

I'm really sorry to hear that. It's been a long, long time since I've seen or heard the 88s, so I don't remember what normal would look like at this time. I do know that with the 34 and the KT120s I never had anything like that. I think it is wise to wait and hear from Kevin. Certainly they will cover the tubes if it is a problem. No worries. He will take care of you once a real issue is confirmed. I don't have the expertise to diagnose since I've never seen that before.

Just so you know, since Prima Luna doesn't run their tubes so hard, they tend to last a very very long time. Many will get 5000-10000 hours out of the power tubes! Depends on the load you are presenting and how hard you drive them of course, but my point is, provided you get a good set of 88s, don't expect to have to roll them for quite some time.

I'll be very interested to hear what Kevin says about it, so please keep me posted!

Demo pricing on the DirectStream? Yeah, I'd do that too! I won't be back in high end audio for a while, so I'm counting on you to give me some good ol' vicarious living!

Well I checked it out and my KT 88s do not have that blue color that I can see.
And they sound great, sweet!!!!!
Do you have any audible noise with that tube? That would be a big clue that something is way wrong.
Let us know,
God Bless,
Wayne