A valve amplifier against a solid-state one. They are not really rivals: they differ in character, in what they will drive and in what owning them involves, so start there rather than with the watts.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Power | B | HiFi Rose RS520 has more power - 250W against 40W into 8 ohms. That is about 8dB - a different class of amplifier rather than a bigger version of the same one, and far more than most rooms will ever ask for. |
| Room size | depends | We rate PrimaLuna EVO 100 Integrated the better fit for desk or near-field listening, a small room and a mid-size room, and HiFi Rose RS520 for a large room and a very large room. Match the amplifier to the room you actually have, not the one you want. |
| Noise floor | B | HiFi Rose RS520 is the quieter design on paper - 109dB against 90dB. Audible mainly with sensitive speakers in a quiet room. |
| Built-in DAC | B | HiFi Rose RS520 has a DAC on board; the other needs an external one, which is another box, another power lead and another purchase. |
| Analogue inputs | A | PrimaLuna EVO 100 Integrated takes more analogue sources - 5 against 1. |
| Use with a TV | depends | Only HiFi Rose RS520 has HDMI eARC, so the television can drive it directly and one remote controls the volume. If the system is for music only, this changes nothing. |
| Room to grow | evenly matched | The same expansion options on both. |
| Headphones | depends | Only PrimaLuna EVO 100 Integrated has a headphone output. Worth something if you listen late, nothing if you never do. |
| Amplifier type | depends | PrimaLuna EVO 100 Integrated is Tube and HiFi Rose RS520 is Solid State. Valve designs are usually warmer and softer at the limits and need their tubes replaced eventually; solid state is the lower-maintenance choice. This is a taste and ownership decision, not a quality one. |
| Price | A | PrimaLuna EVO 100 Integrated costs less - $3,295 against $3,695 at list. |
| Watts per dollar | B | HiFi Rose RS520 is the cheaper watt - about $15 per watt against $82. A blunt measure, and it says nothing about how either sounds, but it is the honest one for raw output. |
A PrimaLuna EVO 100 Integrated B HiFi Rose RS520
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both amplifiers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
HiFi Rose RS520 leads across most of the measured areas for a fairly modest premium, so it is the easier pick if the budget stretches. PrimaLuna EVO 100 Integrated is the one to take if it does not. Start with the room. In a large or open-plan room, or with speakers that are hard to drive - low sensitivity, or an impedance that dips - HiFi Rose RS520 has the headroom, and headroom is what stops an amplifier hardening up on peaks. At desk distance or in a small room, 40 watts is already more than most people ever use, and the extra 210 watts would be headroom you pay for and never hear - we rate HiFi Rose RS520 poorly for near-field use for exactly that reason. If this sits under a television, HiFi Rose RS520 is the one to buy - HDMI ARC means the TV remote controls the volume and there is no second box in the way.
What a spec sheet cannot show: how either sounds with your speakers, how the controls feel day to day, and what the app is like to live with - which is where most all-in-one amplifiers are actually won or lost. Power figures are the manufacturers' own and are not measured to a common standard, so treat small differences as noise. If you can hear both, that will tell you more than any row above.