Primare CD31 CD player

[Κώστας Φ.]

"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's the big deal?
The most obvious change from the Primare D30.2 to the CD31 is visual. The difference isn't dramatic, but enough to make the CD31 look fresh and modern by comparison, with an overall effect that's stereotypically Scandinavian: spare, clean lines, with a rounded glass inset that nicely echoes the rounded knobs and buttons used in all Primare products. The second major difference is under the skin: the CD31 uses a DVS DSL-710A "ultra-silent" transport mechanism instead of the D30.2's stock OEM Sony device. The CD31 also has optical and AES/EBU digital outputs in addition to the Toslink S/PDIF, and replaces the D30.2's Fixed Power switch—which kept that player's analog circuitry warmed up—with a Power switch in the AC cord receptacle. While the CD31 keeps more of its circuitry warmed up than did the D30.2, its front-panel On/Off button, like the earlier player's, toggles between Standby and Operate.

The CD31's basic circuitry is much like the D30.2's. The S/PDIF signal moves from the transport to a DIR1703 digital receiver and two Burr-Brown PCM1704-K D/A converters per channel, resulting in a true balanced analog signal. Each component of the signal goes through a Burr-Brown OPA2134 op-amp for voltage-to-current conversion, then finally to the output stage, which uses an active current source to drive matched discrete MOSFETs. According to Medalen, the differences are in the details and optimization, and he suggested I take a close look under the CD31's cover. "We put a lot of effort into the power supply," he said, "adding storage throughout the circuits, and keeping the paths between storage and delivery as short as possible."

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Summing up
Primare's CD31 isn't a perfect CD player. It's not absolutely neutral, instead superimposing a slightly warm, slightly soft character on the sound. Nor is it completely transparent. It doesn't totally "vanish," as do such components as the VTL TL-7.5 line stage or the Halcro dm88 amplifiers. The CD31 "disappears" in a different way, conjuring up an open window on the original performance. It combines detail resolution, timing, harmonic structure—all of the components we use to describe a component's sound—in a mix in which subtleties and nuances are reproduced in just the right way. The CD31's reasonable price is almost irrelevant in light of its performance, but profound in that it makes that performance available to many more people than is usually the case. The CD31 isn't perfect—but it's sublime." -- Brian Damkroger

"Overall—and in common with some other players recently reviewed in Stereophile, from Linn, Naim, Simaudio, and Nagra—Primare's CD31 offers state-of-the-art "Red Book" CD performance." -- John Atkinson

Full Review: Stereophile.com