Point to Point Wiring
No bean-counters here. PrimaLuna is run by passionate music lovers. When we founded PrimaLuna in 2003, we looked back to audio’s golden age and saw something. Products from the 1960’s such as Marantz 9 power amps, the 7C preamp, and all the others that have skyrocketed in value and collectability have something in common: Point-to-point wiring.
Check out this vintage Marantz magazine ad from the 1960's.
The Marantz 7C retailed for $264. Current Value: $6000. The Marantz 9 Amplifier retailed $324. Current Value: $10,000
Today big high-end audio companies are run by businesspeople and accountants. They want profit margin, so most manufacturers cut costs by using contract factories who stuff tube sockets, capacitors, and resistors directly on to PCBs (printed circuit boards). These parts are then wave soldered by machine in a matter of seconds. Customers rarely look inside to see why it’s such a huge compromise.
The PCB Compromise:
Loss of music signal. You spend a lot of money on interconnects with thick expensive conductoirs. And then in a PCB amp, the signal goes from the RCA jacks into circuit boards with copper traces so thin you can hardly see them. What’s high-end about that?
Lack of longevity. Every time you take tubes in and out of PCB-mounted sockets, you flex the PCB. PCB’s deteriorate over time due to the intense heat of tube sockets mounted to them. They crack, require surgery to create “jumpers” over damaged copper traces, and finally suffer an undignified death on Craigslist.
OUR COMPETITORS
Printed circuit board (PCB) used in a major-brand product. Notice the plastic tube sockets soldered directly to the PCB. The repeated stresses of tube changes and heat, cause failures on the PCB. The amp pictured above sells for $8,500.
PrimaLuna Does It Right
PrimaLuna uses ceramic tube sockets secured to ventilated steel plates that are bolted to the chassis. The entire signal path, including resistors and capacitors, is painstakingly hand-wired with heavy gauge cable by craftspeople. In our EVO 300 and 400 models, we even use Swiss-made silver-plated oxygen-free copper cable with a Teflon dielectric in the entire signal path. The result is a product that sounds amazing and lasts for decades.
PRIMALUNA POINT TO POINT WIRING
Ceramic tube sockets secured to ventilated frames made of steel, bolted to chassis and hand-wired with heavy gauge cable. A defining feature of all PrimaLuna amplifiers.