ЦАПы — PrimaLuna EVO 100 DAC

The EVO 100 DAC is a valve D/A converter from the Dutch company PrimaLuna and the only converter in its EVO line. It combines a Burr-Brown converter chip with a valve output stage, a supply rectified by valves and a clock oscillator built around a valve, and it is priced at USD 3,795 in the United States. The EVO 100 range also includes the EVO 100 valve preamplifier and phono stage built in the same chassis format.

Key specs that matter

The converter is a Texas Instruments Burr-Brown PCM1792A, and a Burr-Brown SRC4192 upsamples incoming data to 24 bit and 192 kHz. The valve complement is two 12AX7, two 12AU7 and two 5AR4 rectifiers, arranged in a dual-mono layout with dedicated valves for each channel. Inputs are USB, AES/EBU, coaxial and optical, and the output is a stereo RCA pair. All inputs accept PCM from 16 to 24 bit at 44.1 to 192 kHz. DSD64 and DSD128 over DoP are supported on USB, and DSD64 on the other inputs. The nominal output is 2 V with an output impedance of 2,800 ohm. A remote control is included. The DAC measures 280 x 190 x 404 mm and weighs 13 kg.

Engineering and use context

PrimaLuna's SuperTubeClock replaces the usual solid-state oscillator with a valve-based clock circuit. The USB input converts incoming data to S/PDIF internally before it reaches the converter, so all inputs pass through the same path. Isolation transformers separate the analogue and digital sections to stop digital noise from reaching the output. The power supply is rectified by two 5AR4 valves and uses eleven regulation circuits with triple pi filters, and a custom toroidal transformer with PrimaLuna's AC Offset Killer removes DC offset present on the mains, which would otherwise cause the transformer to hum. Coupling capacitors are polypropylene, and components are joined by hand with heavy-gauge cable in point-to-point fashion rather than on printed circuit boards. With the SRC4192 in the path, PCM from every input, including USB, reaches the PCM1792A at the upsampled rate whatever the original rate. Left and right never share an amplifying valve, since each channel has a dedicated set.

Pairing

The relatively high output impedance suits preamplifiers and integrated amplifiers with high input impedance, typical of valve designs such as PrimaLuna's own EVO amplifiers. A CD transport connects through AES/EBU or coaxial, a computer through USB and a television through optical.

Alternatives

The PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube Preamplifier is the valve line preamplifier in the same EVO 100 chassis format.