PRIMALUNA EVO 100 Amplifier

This PrimaLuna Evo 100 amplifier is the successor to the Prologue One from the Dutch designer, released over 20 years ago. It retains some of the features that made that device famous, but with numerous improvements made over the years and through successive versions.

The PrimaLuna Evo 100: Chassis

The PrimaLuna Evo 100 is built in a thick, fully ventilated steel chassis. It has a magnificent finish of five layers of hand-rubbed and polished paint. The chassis rests on four special damping feet that perfectly decouple the device from the support. The output and power transformers are concealed under a superb cover, while the tubes are protected behind a removable grille.

The Prima Luna Evo 100: Front panel and connections

The Evo 100 has a natural or black aluminium front panel. On the left is the volume control and on the right is the source selector. There is also a 6.33 mm stereo jack headphone output.

In the center of the front panel, a green LED indicates that the device is powered on via a switch on the left side of the chassis.


On the back of the device, there are four line inputs and a tape out output. These connections are made via high-quality gold-plated RCA chassis connectors; the speaker outputs are on WBT Gold speaker terminals. You can choose between 8 and 4 ohms, depending on the impedance of the speakers used.

The PrimaLuna Evo 100: Technology 

The internal wiring is of the highest quality, following the ‘point-to-point’ tradition. This feature is usually found on products that cost almost twice as much.

The components are of the highest quality, as with all the manufacturer's products: ALPS potentiometers, ceramic tube sockets, Nichicon and DuRoch tin foil capacitors, precision resistors, Philips Ultra Fast diodes, gold-plated RCA input and output sockets mounted on the chassis, WBT Gold speaker terminals, etc.

All PrimaLuna models are equipped with custom-made EI-frame toroidal transformers, manufactured to exacting specifications by one of the most prestigious transformer designers in the United States.

The transformers are fully encapsulated for minimal hum and optimal isolation.

This amplifier features PrimaLuna's intelligent SoftStart circuit, which extends the life of sensitive components and reduces the risk of tube failure due to thermal shock. Prima Luna is also renowned for its Adaptive Auto Bias™ circuit, exclusive to the manufacturer. This circuit, located outside the audio signal path, continuously and instantly monitors and gently adjusts tube bias. This reduces maintenance and increases performance by significantly reducing distortion. 

The PrimaLuna EVO 100 also features PTP™ (Power Transformer Protection) circuitry. In the event of transformer overheating due to environmental conditions, overload or an internal problem, an internal thermal switch cuts off the primary, allowing the device to cool down before it is damaged. Once cooled, contact is restored and, if nothing is damaged, the preamplifier powers up again without any problems.

The power stage is handled by an EL34 push-pull circuit that easily delivers 40 true watts per channel. The input stages are managed by two 12AX7 and two 12AU7 tubes in the driver stage. 

The PrimaLuna Evo 100 is equipped with a polarisation switch, allowing you to choose the optimal polarisation for EL34 or KT88 tubes. Thanks to this switch and the self-polarisation circuit, it is possible to easily replace the EL 34 tubes with K88s.

It should be noted that the headphone output is not designed from a dedicated amplifier circuit. It is coupled to the power stage output, so it receives the full signal from the tube circuit.

The Prima Luna Evo 100: Sound reproduction


From the very first notes, you are transported to a concert hall or recording studio. The dynamics are excellent across the entire frequency range! The bass is remarkable for its control and articulation. The midrange and treble are transparent and detailed, clear enough to give the instruments a realistic sound, but also soft enough to ensure that the sound reproduction is never harsh. The upper end of the spectrum is characteristic of the (best) tube amplifiers: informative, silky, nuanced...

In addition to its tonal quality, the strength of this amplifier is its balance. It is relatively straightforward, which gives it excellent realism. The EVO 100 clearly favours swing and musical enjoyment. 

The PrimaLuna Evo 100 delivers the typical sound of excellent tube amplifiers, offering a subtle combination of transparency, timbre and dynamics. Such quality at this price point is very rare, if not non-existent. It should also be noted that the manufacturer makes no compromises on build quality and technology.

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