Fido Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 4 hours ago, PHX1KAH said: mopardave - I decided to go another route and am seriously considering a Hegel H190 Integrated Amplifier and a Bluesound Node 2I. I talked with a local Dynaudio dealer and he highly recommended the Hegel to pair with my C4 speakers, plus the cost of the amp/node/cables is much more reasonable then the Ayon. The Ayon will still be on my future list at they sound and look incredible. (FYI the picture posted of the Ayon wiring is from a 2013 review of a Spirit III). Searching for new amps is very fun and exciting. I have heard great reviews on the Hegel H190. Enjoy your new Hegel. I use my Bluesound Node 2i connected to a Denefrips Pontus R2R DAC to stream Amazon HD and Spotify and I think the combo is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 15 minutes ago, Fido said: Searching for new amps is very fun and exciting. I have heard great reviews on the Hegel H190. Enjoy your new Hegel. I use my Bluesound Node 2i connected to a Denefrips Pontus R2R DAC to stream Amazon HD and Spotify and I think the combo is great. “searching for new amps is very fun and exciting” — and expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 On 5/13/2021 at 12:54 PM, PHX1KAH said: did you audition a Primaluna 400--- ,if , yes how do you rate the Ayon Spirit III , versus the Primaluna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 1 hour ago, richieb said: “searching for new amps is very fun and exciting” — and expensive Can be expensive but I know I have more than recouped my audio investments from the years of enjoyment I have received listening to all those hours of beautiful music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHX1KAH Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 46 minutes ago, RandyH000 said: did you audition a Primaluna 400--- ,if , yes how do you rate the Ayon Spirit III , versus the Primaluna No I did not get to see/audition the Primaluna 300 or 400, I researched them and they look very good but I decided to move away from tubes (for the moment). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 Just now, PHX1KAH said: No I did not get to see/audition the Primaluna tx for the reply - hope the Hegel works out - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopardave Posted May 17, 2021 Author Share Posted May 17, 2021 22 hours ago, PHX1KAH said: No I did not get to see/audition the Primaluna 300 or 400, I researched them and they look very good but I decided to move away from tubes (for the moment). Pretty sure the Ayon V will be the amp for me. Once the fall weather comes back around i will be doing much more listening and will get it ordered at that time, unless i find a good used one before then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 On 5/11/2021 at 8:19 PM, RandyH000 said: Hey dont kid youself , this aint no regular tube amp , they've got circuits to eliminate the regular Bias adjustments , so ......SS and tubes -a hybrid - Auto Bias does not equal a hybrid amp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 2 hours ago, mopardave said: Pretty sure the Ayon V will be the amp for me. good choice - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 2 hours ago, joessportster said: Auto Bias does not equal a hybrid amp The Ayon Spirit amplifier has a Semi-Auto-Bias circuit - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 Hybrid implies either solid state devices, (transistors) used for output, and vacuum tubes for preamplifier stages. Or the output stage uses vacuum tubes, with solid devices for the front-end (preamplifier) stages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicerogue Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 20 hours ago, RandyH000 said: good choice - So, you've heard the Ayon, then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 15 hours ago, Cicerogue said: So, you've heard the Ayon, then? yes , the Ayon Spirit III - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 2 hours ago, RandyH000 said: yes , the Ayon Spirit III - Have you listened to a Primaluna EVO 400 to compare on the same speakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 16 hours ago, Fido said: Have you listened to a Primaluna EVO 400 to compare on the same speakers? no - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard Guarneri Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 I have the PrimaLuna Evo 400, and Had the Ayon Triton 3 Gen 4. Both great amps. So lets narrow it down: Sound: Both sound great. How much power do you need? Spirit, Evo 400 same power, more or less. LOOKS: Very subjective. As far as exterior finish, it's like the difference between glossy or satin paint. Exterior wise, I personally Lien toward the Ayon Spirit. Interior wise, based on the picture I see here of the Spirit's internals, and the picture of the Evo 400 internals on PrimaLuna's website, winner, PrimaLuna. The Spirit's internals look sloppy compared to the well laid out Evo 400. TECHNOLOGY: Both very advanced tube amps, but the PrimaLuna by far has the best autobias system. Tube protection done by relays, no fuses need to be replaced if tube craps out. Just turn amp off, remove tube, put new tube in and turn the amp back on. Don't even need to match the tube. Don't know about the Spirit, but biasing the Triton 3 Gen 4 required a few more steps, but it had pretty sophisticated protection circuitry. Flip of switch for low bias: 6L6, 6L6gc, El34, KT66, KT77; high bias: KT88s, KT90s, KT120s, KT150s ready for use in the PrimaLuna. Spirit, KT88s, KT 90s, KT120s, KT150s. Pretty much that's it. As far as other advanced features, they both have a plethora of them. You can pretty much check that out on their respective website, of which, PrimaLuna's get the nod there. Some other notes about technology: Balanced Audio Technology (BAT) pretty much now uses protection circuitry like the PrimaLuna's on their current REX tube amps which sell for new somewhere in the area of $30,000.00. BAT was one of the frist amps companies to use auto biasing, but until at least the 56se, 60se, 75se, they used fuses which had to be replaced if one blew because a tube went bad; Audio Research's VT80, 80se, which I think is the only Audio Research tube amp (I could be wrong here) that has auto biasing, still uses fuses for tube protection. If a fuse blows it must be manually replaced. So bottom line: If someone reading this is looking for one of the two amps talked about in this thread, my recommendation: If external looks is your most important criteria, for me it would be the Ayon. In most other regards, though, it would be the PrimaLuna. Never-the-less, I don't think you could go wrong with either of these amps. More money might get you more power, but it won't get you better musical sound. And how much power do you need? It really can be a fool's errand sometimes. Old timer who was partners in a highend, preowned audio store for many years, and pretty much has heard hundreds of amps, speakers, tuners, you name it audio, that was current up until about 2007; now buy and selling for my own pleasure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopardave Posted November 18, 2023 Author Share Posted November 18, 2023 Thanks for the reply. I could not get myself to spend that kind of money on an amp, so i decided to purchase a 300b Willsenton. Been doing some modding/hotrodding to it with a change in the power supply, changed out some caps for better Mundorf's and now thinking about new OPT, maybe Hashimotos. For a 1500 dollar 300b, it sounds very nice. I really enjoy the tinkering with these tube amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted November 26, 2023 Share Posted November 26, 2023 On 5/11/2021 at 8:19 PM, OO1 said: Hey dont kid youself , this aint no regular tube amp , they've got circuits to eliminate the regular Bias adjustments , so ......SS and tubes -a hybrid - This picture even makes me sicker than the description..... total garbage that is bound to cause it to be thrown away within about 10 years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted November 26, 2023 Share Posted November 26, 2023 Oh , ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopardave Posted November 26, 2023 Author Share Posted November 26, 2023 2 hours ago, NOSValves said: This picture even makes me sicker than the description..... total garbage that is bound to cause it to be thrown away within about 10 years... Not the same amp, but i get it. I have the Willsenton 300b. It would be nice to have a high end $7000 amp to compare. This thing sounds very nice across the CornScala. Using GL 300b, Sophia Electric 274b with NOS 6sl7 and 6sn7gt pre's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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