Roll 'Em If You Got 'Em: "Future-Proof" PrimaLuna EVO 200 Integrated Tube Amplifier Features Compatibility with Practically Any Tube Type and Plays with Full, Warm, Rich Sound

With the PrimaLuna EVO 200 tube integrated amplifier, you’ve got options. Plenty. Compatible with 6L6G, 6L6GC, 7581A, EL34, EL37, 6550, KT66, KT77, KT88, KT90, KT120, and KT150 tubes, this outrageously good amp touts a flexibility and “future-proof” capability that simply cannot be beat at this price point. And because EVO 200 runs tubes at about 417 volts for plates and screens, you can rest assured whatever tubes you roll will last a long, long time — cutting down on needless expense and frustration. 

Outputting a robust 44Wpc (into eight ohms) and featuring four pairs of stereo inputs as well as a stereo HT bypass input, the 52.8-pound EVO 200 also employs Adaptive AutoBias — a smart, completely passive technology that employs sensors to monitor your tubes and makes adjustments in real time. Since it addresses “tube pinch off” at high volumes, it reduces distortion by a figure of more than 50 percent. Plus, EVO 200 runs its output tubes at a minimum dissipation without going into crossover distortion. 

That all sounds great, you might be thinking, but doesn’t that mean the amp provides less power from each tube? It does. But big power numbers don’t ever automatically correlate with stellar sonics. The latter happen by leveraging the strength of big transformers as well as high-grade sockets, wiring, resistors, and capacitors. The very approach taken by EVO 200, allowing to provide power that is pure and clean, and which leads to gorgeous midranges, controlled low-end passages, and airy, extended highs.

Inside EVO 200, large toroidal transformers are enclosed in a metal housing and potted in a non-microphonic resin to future reduce noise and protect the windings from deterioration. This solution far out-performs C- and EI-core types in outboard power supply boxes. Also on display: custom-made super-wide-bandwidth output transformers, the most important (and expensive) part of any tube amp. Wound in-house and beefy in size, they ensure long tube life and contribute the desired “slam” any high-end system needs to reproduce music with convincing authority and presence. Point-to-point wiring throughout the entire signal path, ultra-quiet sealed relay inputs, bad-tube indicator LED lights, and the lack of any internal DAC or phonostage to prevent added complexity further check the audiophile boxes. 

As a bonus, EVO 200 boasts an all-tube-output transformer-coupled headphone amplifier for the times you want to listen in private. An ALPS blue velvet potentiometer, slim remote control, and three-year manufacturer warranty round out an 8.1 x 14.4 x 15.9-inch component that invites you to experience the warmth, musicality, and fullness of tube sound for a truly accessible cost that’s attracted rave reviews from Hi-Fi Choice, Hi-Fi Pig, and StereoNet.

For more information on EVO 200 or any of PrimaLuna’s integrated tube amplifiers, call a Music Direct audio consultant at 312-433-0200. 

“This is an exceptional valve amplifier that is constantly easy to live with, beautifully made, and possesses the power needed to make it practical with many modern loudspeaker designs."
—Ed Selley, Hi-Fi Choice

“I’ve seen too many bonkers tube amps that thrive with one particular type of loudspeaker type or music type in my time — yet this is a great, sensible, middle-of-the-road design that’s obviously very well engineered.”
—David Price, StereoNet

“This amplifier offers a detailed and fast sound with excellent mid-band and secure top with a beautiful patina that simply makes music human again.”
—Janine Elliot, Hi-Fi Pig