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Primare A34.2 Review

Primare A34.2 Review

My Magnepan 1.7s have been leading something of a double life for the past year or so. I wouldn’t exactly say they’ve been rampant cheaters, like, for instance, Donald Draper, but they have been carrying on with mates of various persuasions.

On the tube side, the 1.7s were cavorting with VTL’s TL-5.5 Series II Signature preamp and ST-150 power amplifier (which I reviewed quite favorably in Issue 251), while the Maggies’ solid-state playmates were Sutherland’s N1 preamp, and the Primare A34.2 under consideration here.

Using Primare’s proprietary UFPD (Ultra Fast Power Device) technology, what Primare has developed is an amplifier delivering tremendous speed and plenty of power (150Wpc) in a relatively compact (16.9″ x 4/13″ x 15.15″, and just 23 pounds) and affordable ($3000) package. And should you be after essentially unlimited power, for, say, either home-theater use or for extremely low-sensitivity speakers, the A34.2 can be operated in a bridged-mono mode to crank out 550 beastly watts.

But brute force isn’t exactly the point here. Although the A34.2 is certainly capable of slamming hard, in my experience it is also capable of fine resolution and finesse.

Primare A34.2 Review

One example I’ll cite is Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game” from Ladies of the Canyon [Reprise]. Her marvelous third LP dates from 1970 (her next would be Blue), and the sound here is quite good. As Ladies is still more folk- than jazz-oriented, acoustic instruments are her main accompaniment, and I marveled at hearing the golden purity and presence of her young soprano, along with the truly beautiful, harmonically rich ringing sound of her Martin acoustic, both of which the Primare reproduced with directness and natural balance against the backdrop of a large, notably airy stage.

The word “neutral” is often overused to describe components, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that a design that strikes us as being neutral is going to be more satisfying than something with a more overt personality. (I actually prefer the word “transparent” to describe the gear that delivers the goods with as little of its own sonic signature as possible.) But neutral does strike me as a good word for the A34.2, as its tonal balance on this and the rest of the musical examples I’ll describe consistently struck me as neither warm nor cold, as well as highly consistent across the audible band, with no apparent peaks or valleys from top to bottom. And this was a constant whether I was using the VTL or Sutherland preamp.

Describing Primare’s design goals for the A34.2, Kevin Wolff of Primare’s U.S. importer, VANA, wrote in an e-mail: “It is unfortunate but much of the audio industry still does not understand that Class D does not mean digital, though it can. Some [Class D] designs are digital while others are not; ours are not. The analogy we have [been] working on is that of high-performance electric and hybrid cars. I used to own a Prius. While a great car, it was not high performance. The new La Ferrari is a hybrid that’s high performance for sure. Some Class D [amps] are deserving of the ‘it makes sound’ moniker, while others go beyond. We think we’re in the second category. The design ideal was not of space and efficiency but of sonic value. The efficiency advantages are bonus features. Primare’s proprietary Class D design is in its view the best amplifier design it’s ever had. This was not a compromise project but one based on a goal of producing the most natural, detailed, and musical component possible.”

Not being the most technically versed member of the TAS team, I asked Wolff for a more detailed description of the difference between digital and analog Class D. I believe that this succinct paragraph from an forthcoming Primare paper covers it nicely: “The term ‘Class D’ is sometimes misunderstood as meaning a ‘digital’ amplifier. Primare’s UFPD modules operate entirely in the analog domain. Basically, the UFPD amplifier module takes an analog input sinewave and converts it into a high-frequency pulse-width-modulated square wave for amplification. This square wave is then filtered, resulting in an amplified analog sinewave at the output.”

Primare says the advantages of UFPD include “instant and sustained delivery of immense power” with “lightning-fast rise times over a wide bandwidth” and precise control with a flat frequency response, independent of the speaker load, in part due to the amp’s low output impedance. Moreover, with the A34.2, Primare aims for very low harmonic distortion as well as low noise, and virtually no heat.

That last feature alone will make the A34.2 a strong contender for the consumer wishing to place an amplifier in an enclosed cabinet, where conventional designs are generally not happy. But as desirable as this design’s practical advantages are, at the end of the day what counts is how good a conduit it (or any component) is for the musical signals flowing through it. And as I’ve already hinted at what the Primare sound has to offer, let’s listen to a few more records.

Some months ago I heard the talented young cellist Alisa Weilerstein give a recital at a small, acoustically gorgeous church in San Francisco. She plays with a lot of drive and youthful passion, which for my taste doesn’t particularly lend itself to the likes of Bach but does beautifully serve something like the Kodály Sonata Op. 8, which she played that night as well as on her latest Decca CD, Solo.

Playing the recording of that or any piece is, of course, not like hearing it live. However, the Decca engineers did a nice job of capturing Weilerstein’s large, warmly robust, mahogany tone, as well as her sharpness of attack and the singing, almost Hendrix-like top notes she unfurls with muscular gusto. And the A34.2 delivered those qualities very nicely, indeed, bringing home her pedal-to-the-metal reading of the Kodály Sonata with impressive speed and dynamic attack, and a real physical sense of her bow work. There was a natural feeling of the instrument’s body, too.
What you might not get on a recording is the complexity of harmonic color and dynamic shading you do in life—or frankly, from the twice-as-expensive VTL ST-150 (though, it naturally ain’t the real deal, either).

On Mario Davidovsky’s terrific-sounding Synchronism No. 6 for piano and recorded sounds [Group for Contemporary Music, Turnabout LP], the Primare was stellar at delivering the bullet-speed transient plinks, plonks, and blips of this delightful music, all from a deeply silent background that convincingly recreated the sensation of the music emanating from a space of energized air. Impressive.

Playing Coltrane’s A Love Supreme [Analogue Productions/Impulse 45rpm LP] was also impressive, as the Primare brought out the near-hypnotic spiritual pull of this music. Timbre was again spot-on; brass was breathy, cymbals shimmery, bass and drums full of weight and texture. The Primare’s few audible shortcomings are also evident here: The final degrees of transparency are missing—meaning specifically there is a sense of a slight electronic haze veiling the music—and, though mostly quite neutral, the A34.2 leans slightly toward a darker tonal balance.

But these are relative imperfections. Overall, I would say that the A34.2 handsomely meets Primare’s design goals for a powerful, ultra-fast, almost noise-free, and pretty neutral amplifier that can easily slip into essentially any stereo or multichannel application. I know my Maggie 1.7s would agree.

SPECS & PRICING

Power output: 150Wpc into 8 ohms stereo mode, 550W into 8 ohms bridged mono mode
Inputs: Two pairs single-ended RCA, two pairs balanced XLR, RS232, 12 V trigger
Dimensions: 16.9″ x 4/13″ x 15.15″
Weight: 23.15 lbs.
Price: $3000

VANA LTD.
728 Third Street, Unit C
Mukilteo, WA 98275
(425) 610-4532
vanaltd.com

Associated Equipment
Rega RP10 turntable and Apheta MC cartridge; Sutherland Engineering N1 & VTL TL-5.5 Series II Signature preamps; VTL ST-150 power amplifier; TEAC HC-501CD/SACD Player; Magnepan MG 1.7 loudspeakers, Tara Labs Zero interconnects, Omega speaker cables, The One power cords, and BP-10 Power Screen; Finite Elemente Spider equipment racks.

Tags: PRIMARE

Wayne Garcia

By Wayne Garcia

Although I’ve been a wine merchant for the past decade, my career in audio was triggered at age 12 when I heard the Stones’ Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! blasting from my future brother-in-law’s giant home-built horn speakers. The sound certainly wasn’t sophisticated, but, man, it sure was exciting.

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