Analog Sources: Linn LP12 turntable with Naim Armageddon power supply; Naim Aro tonearm; Miyabi 47, Lyra Helikon Mono cartridges.
Digital Sources: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player, Naim CDS555 CD player.
Preamplification: Tamura TKS-83, VAS MC-One, Auditorium 23 step-up transformers; Fi, Lamm LL2, Shindo Aurieges, Shindo Masseto preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: Lamm ML2.1, Fi 2A3 Stereo, Quad II (all monoblocks); Shindo Montille & Cortese.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E Lexus Signature, Quad ESL.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx, Nordost…
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Sidebar: Associated Equipment
At $2295, the CD31 is the most expensive integrated CD player from Swedish manufacturer Primare, and an evolution of their D30.2, which I reviewed in the June 2004 Stereophile. I knew that the CD31 wasn't a clean-sheet design, but my first look suggested that it wasn't even much of an evolution—a comparison of its and the D30.2's spec sheets matched almost line for line. When I asked Terry Medalen of Sumiko, Primare's US distributor, about the similarity, and if the CD31 was just a mild tweaking of the D30.2, he said, "Well, yes and no. You really need to listen to it."
So what'…
The impression I had from early, casual listening was that the Primare lacked focus, but after listening to a series of natural recordings made in venues of different size, I concluded that its focus was just fine. Individual instruments in an orchestra, or images of a vocalist on a stage, weren't at all blurred or indistinct. What I was hearing was the absence of the razor-sharp edge definition and stark spaces that can be so spectacular in small doses. One great example of how the CD31 combined detail and coherence occurs at the opening of "Pancho and Lefty." Townes Van Zandt's guitar…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Integrated CD player. D/A conversion: 8x-oversampling, 4 Burr-Brown PCM1704 K 24-bit/96kHz D/A converter chips. Digital filter: Burr-Brown DF1704 24-bit/96kHz. Output level: fixed, 2.0V unbalanced, 4.0V balanced. THD+noise: 0.01%, 20Hz–20kHz. Output impedance: 100 ohms. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, +0/–0.5dB. Signal/noise: 105dB, A-weighted. Outputs, analog: 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 1 pair balanced (XLR). Outputs, digital: 75 ohm S/PDIF (RCA), 110 ohm AES/EBU (XLR), optical. Inputs: RS-232, Primare intercomponent data link. Power consumption: 34W…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: VPI HR-X turntable & tonearm, Lyra Titan cartridge.
Preamplification: Sutherland PhD phono stage; Sutherland Direct, Placette Active, VTL TL-7.5 Series 2 line stages.
Power Amplifiers: VTL Ichiban & S-400, Halcro dm58 & dm88.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Sophia 2.
Cables: Interconnects & speaker: Stereovox, Shunyata Research, Nordost. AC: Audience, Shunyata Research.
Accessories: Audience AdeptResponse, Shunyata Research Hydra power conditioners; Finite Elemente Reference equipment stand, Cera-ball…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
From its unbalanced jacks, the Primare CD31's maximum output level at 1kHz was 2.086V, just 0.37dB higher than the CD standard's 2V. As expected, the balanced output was exactly twice the unbalanced value, at 4.173V. Both outputs were absolute-polarity correct; ie, non-inverting (the XLRs are wired with pin 2 hot, the AES standard). The output impedance was a low 100 ohms across the audioband from the unbalanced jacks and, again as expected, exactly twice that figure from the balanced jacks. Error correction was superb, the CD31 suffering no audible glitches in…
"I have a really special loudspeaker I want you to hear," said Immedia's Allen Perkins at Home Entertainment 2006.
I entered the Immedia room and followed Perkins to the floorstanding Sonics by Joachim Gerhard Allegrias ($15,000/pair). Yes, baby! I thought. But Perkins kept walking, all the way to a table in the rear of the showroom. He waved at a pair of tiny boxes.
"They're, um, small," I said.
"Yes. I think the Anima is my favorite speaker in the Sonics by Joachim Gerhard product line."
"Is Sonics by Joachim Gerhard really the brand name? I think…
Another example of this was John Atkinson's unreleased recording of Attention Screen performing live at Otto's Shrunken Head, a bar on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The recording isn't fancy—JA just set up an ORTF pair of DPA cardioid microphones and recorded direct to his PowerBook's hard drive at 24/88.2. He left the intervals between the songs intact, so there's lots of ambient crowd chatter and bar business going on throughout the recording. And between songs, someone received a cell-phone call—one of the sounds of the real world we're all too familiar with. JA gave me a copy of the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, stand-mounted, ported loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.86" (22mm) metal-dome tweeter, 5.9" (150mm) anodized-aluminum woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.7kHz . Frequency responses: 70Hz–33kHz, –3dB; 100Hz–30kHz, –2dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 86dB/m/2.83V/m.
Dimensions: 13" (330mm) H by 7" (180mm) W by 9" (240mm) D. Weight: 11.7 lbs (5.3kg).
Finishes: Birdseye maple, Maccassa ebony, pear wood.
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: 118 A/B.
Price: $2600/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 7.
Manufacturer: Sonics by Joachim…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Oppo Digital DV-970HD universal player, Slim Devices Transporter digital network player.
Preamplifier: Krell Evolution 202.
Power Amplifiers: Channel Island Audio D-100, Portal Paladin (both monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Special Twenty-Five, Wilson Audio Specialties WATT/Puppy 8.
Cables: Interconnect: Kimber KCAG, Shunyata Research Aries & Antares. Speaker: Shunyata Research Lyra.
Accessories: Foundation speaker stands, Furutech eTP-609 distribution box & FP-20A(R) duplex outlets, RealTrap Mini & Mondo…