Tubes x Vinyl x Audiophile Construction = Listening Bliss: PrimaLuna EVO 100 MM/MC Tube Phono Preamplifier Delivers Exceptional Inner Detail, Tonal Saturation, and Sonic Purity

There’s nothing like the combination of tubes and vinyl. The PrimaLuna EVO 100 MM/MC tube phono preamplifier drives this fact home each time you spin records and send delicate analog signals through its high-grade components. Once you go tube, you’ll never want to go back. No step-up transformers, op amps, or solid-stage gain stage here. 

Designed for simplicity and ease of use, EVO 100 features a massive power transformer, 5AR4 tube rectification, 12AX7 gain for moving-magnet cartridges, and 6922 gain for moving-coil types. You get a pair of capacitance settings for the MM stage and three for MC. No matter what cartridge type you select, you’ll hear warm, textured, harmonic, smooth, and stunningly detailed playback marked by arresting purity and tonal saturation. 

Measuring 7.5 x 11 x 15.9 inches (HWD), the 28.7-pound EVO 100 touts superb build quality that match that of other PrimaLuna EVO audio equipment. Everything inside — including the ceramic tube sockets, Nichicon and DuRoch capacitors, and gold-plated connectors — benefits from point-to-point wiring. The exterior heavy-gauge steel chassis struts itself by way of five coats of glossy paint, each hand-rubbed and polished for an elegant finish. 

Filled with a total of 10 tubes, EVO 100 boasts five input impedance settings for MC users and a single pair of inputs for both MM and MC use. A cleanly arrayed front panel with two handy knobs further speaks to its ability to blend in with any system or setting. Backed by a three-year manufacturer warranty, EVO 100 may be the last external phonostage you ever use. 

"[The] EVO 100 Phono gets highest praise, as I own a handful of great $10k-ish phonostages from ARC, Backert Labs, BAT, Pass Labs, and VAC…so when I say that the EVO is one of the best deals going in a $3,700 phono and delivers performance you’d expect to pay more for, it’s not empty praise. It’s been compared to several great phonostages, with a wide variety of cartridges."
—Jeff Dorgay, TONEAudio, Exceptional Value Award

“Not hybrid, not solid-state, but all-tube and with so much warmth and air that its sound can only be described as ‘cosseting’. Fans of the brand – and I still use a Mk I ProLogue Two – are gonna love this.”
—Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News, Outstanding Product 

"It deserves a place on every aspiring audiophile’s list for an audition - it will take a remarkable phonostage at that price to get the better of it."
—Chris Kelly, Hi-Fi+

“This superlative phonostage is bound to elevate your vinyl playback experience to new heights. It has certainly magnified my enjoyment to the point where I just could not stop listening to vinyl." 
—Dick Olsher, The Absolute Sound

"The PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube Phono is, in every respect, a magnificent preamplifier, which reaches very high standards with its sound quality and is not far from the highest ones at all."
—High & Style