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Review 1 of 2
Price Paid:
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from Secondhand Summary:
Admittedly, this is my first "high-end" CD player (really just entry-level in the bigger scheme of things, so sniffed the dealer I mentioned the Primare to while demoing a system with a friend). Just to give a sense of perspective, my first CD player was a Marantz CD40, followed by Quad 67 (mmm...), Rega Planet and Quad 77 (hmm...).
The Quad sound - midrangey and laidback, making vocals and drums brilliantly natural, has always struck a chord with me so I was after a similar signature and with the Primare I got what I would call a high-end Quad CD player (the way that my Densen DM10 is a higher end version of the Quad 77/99 amp).
Someone advertised this player for sale at a ridiculous price so I was quick to knock on his door. After a quick demo at his place (listening to the player through TV speakers, no less!), I really had no idea whether I would like it or not. But because it was selling for a quarter of the brandnew price (at only 3 years old, an undisputed bargain), I thought there's no harm in jumping in. Worst case, I could always sell it off if I didn't like it.
Well, it's been more than a year now and not only is this player still with me, I've also stopped thinking about upgrading my system. It works very well with the Densen DM10 and Harbeth HL-P3 speakers (with Xtender woofers and Kimber biwiring).
I'm still astonished at the level of detail it digs up from recordings I thought I had become intimately familiar with. I could hear background singers clearly, and could even tell who's singing at what note! Drums are a delight - you can tell which type is being used at any one time (well, mostly, anyway).
It presents a very chunky, slightly laidback sound that encourages extended listening. About the only thing I don't like about it is that it's picky about the discs it can read (I have the original model with the Philips transport, by the way. The newer ones use Sony. I've always been irrationally drawn to Philips players; maybe because in my head I always equate Sony with crap mini-combo units.) Strengths:
Love the midrange. Bags of detail. You can hear into a recording pretty well. Weaknesses:
Moody transport mechanism. Makes bad recordings intolerable, which is why I have a Rega Planet on standby. Similar Products Used:
Quad 67, Rega Planet, Quad 77
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