Primare SP32 User Thread

Krobar
Any updates?

Good question.. any news?

Krobar calling Krobar?

I feel like we're talking to a wall.. Shame. I was looking forward to this review.

Is this available in the US yet? If so I can't find it. Fully balanced pre/pros are rarer than hens teeth and if the price is not too outrageous I might want to give it a listen myself. So Krobar, please update us. Thanks.

Don't hold your breath for a review. He hasn't replied to anyone but still posts on other threads.. go figure...

Krobar passed this to me:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/audio...mare-sp32.html

UK AV Forum

Primare SPA22 & SP32 are shipping and in store around the country. Magnolia Audio Video has them on display on the west coast (Bellevue & Seattle WA, Santa Clara, San Ramon, Woodland Hills & Santa Monica CA). I would contact The Sound Organisation in Dallas for additional dealers in your area.

BTW, I have never heard a HT Pre/Pro that sounds anywhere near as good as this. And, the new video board should be available in about a month or so.

I have "heard of" Primare but never auditioned Primare gear.

I was paying the balance on a second REL sub I ordered yesterday and got to hear the SP32 for about 20 minutes or so.

While not an in depth audition as I am not in the market until late Summer for a processor, this Primare unit sounded outstanding. It really gave my NAD Masters M15 a run for the money and may have sounded better in stereo/analog mode. Wow, but would need to hear it with my Dynaudio Confidence speakers to form a final opinion.

As mentioned, the unit is upgradeable but I will not consider a new processor until the arsenal of new mother boards are available.

The unit is balanced and it may not make a difference for short runs but since my new SimAudio Amp is balanced I want to use these connections.

I am glad I listened to this Primare processor as I have another to add to my list for consideration. I do wish more of these processors had two or more inputs for subs as I didn't know how important this is becoming to me.

Primare SP32
NAD Masters M15HD
Arcam

Should be an interesting summer for auditioning.

Need to get this second REL sub paid off first. Never ends..

Just wanted to toss my initial impressions out there about this unit. It will always be sound first with me and this unit sounded excellent.

Maybe more to follow in a few months

Rick

You can very easily use a y-adapter for the LFE output. None of the current audio formats have true 'rear' woofers anyway.

Any more news about this processor? I can't help but be intrigued by it, epecially interested in its 2-channel potential. I am considering this along with the NAD M15HD. Which ever one has the best DAC and analog output stage for 2-channel will be my choice. Unfortunately, demos for either will be hard to come by..

hi, does anyone have the SP32 with the HD upgrade?

If so, is it a noticable improvement over PCM?

thanks

CaM

For what it is worth, I just replaced my Linn Kisto with the Primare SP32 and I am blown away by the SP32's performance both as an AV processor and for 2-channel playback (using the Oppo BDP83SE as my source component). As far as I am concerned I am getting twice the performance at half the price.

Any more users of the Primare SP32? I would be interested in some quality statements!

I have been using the SP32HD for over a year now and if sound quality is your only measure then the unit affords outstanding value for money for a true audiophile processor. I use the SP32 as the processor for both my video and two channel stereo listening. The sources are a Dune HD max for all my video streaming and Naim Unitiserve for the stereo hi-res audio. Amplification is a five pack of mono Parasound JC1, speakers are B&W 802 Diamond for the front two, HTM2 Diamond for the centre and 805 for the rear pair. Huge Revel subs for LFE duty. Dedicated cinema with very extensive room treatments.

The SP32 is a great source for the JC1s as they have such a reservoir of power but communicates with such precise fluidity. They are just as remarkable playing very softly with the touch of a watchmaker. The SP32HD is at its best on DTS HD MA recordings, with astonishing slam, speed and precision. It never gets overwhelmed, rushed or wrong-footed. The absence of all electronic room correction is liberating and provides space around all the sound stage.

Throw a 24/96 PCM stereo source at it and I often struggle to leave the room. The sheer amount of data it presents is just extraordinary. The sense of realism, of environment of 'just wanting to pick up its skirts and run' makes it a treasure to own. I send frequencies down to a very low level to the 802 Diamonds as they have an extraordinary low frequency capability. Thus the only sound from the sub is from the LFE channel thus I can easily observe the control the SP32 has over the lowest frequency and it is always fast, clean and way way down deep. I have set the Parasound amps to run in ultra high class A bias and the combination is a sense of believability I have never heard before.

The SP32 is neutral but not cold and can sing like Eva Cassidy.

There is much on the non-sonic side to irritate. These include no easy firmware updates, occasional locking, missing channels, missing colour but a quick switch to another source and back again always fixes it. I keep meaning to add a function to the Logitech Harmony 1100 called 'fix processor' to be used by the family to automate the process.

There has been no firmware update in the last year or two so I am still living with the pathetically slow audio lock. For MKV TV episode one often misses the first couple of sentences of the beginning of the episode as the SP32 is trying to remember what to do with the stuff that comes out of an HDMI cable. Luckily there are no such issues with my Naim Unitiserve over coaxial TOSLINK.

I do not get sentimental with AV processors and if I heard something better I would buy it. At the moment I am enjoying the hugely exciting yet nuanced performance of the SP32HD.

Ian

Has anyone tried the Primare against the Onkyo SC5507/08/09?