Ah, valves. How we like their delicacy, sonic warmth and the way they light up. There are still valve amplifier manufacturers that work tirelessly to emulate that rich sound of the valve amplifier era.

PrimaLuna, Luxman and Cayin are designers and manufacturers of valve amplifiers that not only reproduce that classic valve sound but have made several improvements that enhance the sound quality and reliability of valves. Their designs run tubes at the minimum dissipation or power and give more slam and bandwidth through superior output transformer design.

Back in the 1950's and 1960's we were wowed by the technology of valves in our electronics that powered our music and TV sets.That warm smooth sound provided entertainment in a way not experienced before. It did give way during the 1960's to the cost effective and convenient solid state electronics that became our world. Many of the famous valve amplifiers such as the Marantz 7 and 8 series made in the 1960's have achieved legendary status .You might ask why so. The reason is that they provide a sound that is so much warmer than solid state amplifiers even today. And this leads to listening for longer as the atmospheric sound envelops you.

One of the pitfalls of valve amplifiers for all their sonic sweetness is the lack of bass slam and definition. Current designs have overcome this technology hurdle by improvements to transformer performance.The transformer within an amplifier provides the "horsepower" that make the speakers perform to their maximum. In current designs they maximise power quality not quantity and that is what gives bass performance.Both Prima Luna and Cayin valve amplifier ranges use point to point wiring,the same as the famous Marantz valve pre and power amplifiers of the 1960's.The wiring is done by hand to ensure optimal sonic reproduction.