Remember music centres? Primare would probably rather you didn't – they were mostly pretty nasty. But the Swedish style-meister has produced here what can honestly be described as a music centre for the 21st Century, and by that we mean in terms of looks, features and (one hopes!) performance.
Primare is by no means the first ‘specialist' hi-fi manufacturer to develop such a product in recent times – the CDI10 is simply the latest in a growing range – clearly, the serious all-in-one-box system is fast becoming a force to reckon with. Not to beat about the bush, it's an attractively obvious plot, the key to which is the front panel of this very unit. There's nothing to give away the fact that this is more than just a CD player. On the top panel are a mere six buttons. The remote control looks like any other system remote. Even the overall dimensions and weight of the CDI10 are unremarkable for a mid-range CD player.
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But the rear panel is another story – three sets of line-level inputs, an F-type aerial socket and speaker terminals, plus optical and coaxial digital outputs. What we have here, in fact, is a well-featured component comprising CD player, DAB and FM tuner, line-level integrated amp and analogue-to-digital converter. Two major factors make this possible, with a proper hi-fi specification at every stage.
First, electronic miniaturisation. Surface-mounted components throughout mean that the necessary complexities can be fitted within one case. And second, a switching-type (‘Class D') power amp. Primare is keen to emphasise that this is not a digital amp but it's certainly not analogue in the conventional sense either. Instead, one pair of implausibly small transistors per channel switch current on and off in such a way that the averaged output in the audio band forms a high-fidelity replica of the input.
As a result, each power amplifying channel resides entirely on a circuit board measuring 70x85mm, which nevertheless puts out some 75 watts of low-distortion power. We ran some tests on this and the claims are met, with pretty low distortion (not astonishing, but perfectly respectable) and a wide bandwidth. Our only mild concern is that into a typical tweeter load, the response climbs a bit in the very high treble.
Because Class D is so efficient, no heatsinks are required, saving on both space and weight. The power supply also saves weight by being a switch-mode type, though in terms of size it's no gain over a conventional transformer. Meanwhile, the DAB/FM tuner module is the usual cigarette-packet-sized affair, mounted above the main audio board and after the CD transport (a familiar DVD-ROM type). Even after the control circuits have been factored in there's still some fresh air in the box.
What we must emphasise is that this is not almost $1200-worth each of tuner, CD player and amp. The case is usually the most expensive part of any smart-looking hi-fi, so there is a real gain in putting the whole caboodle in just one case. So, that makes it probably more like $2000 per component instead. We're taken with the concept – but how does it sound?
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SOUN
D QUALITY
First, and perhaps most important: there's little or nothing to give away the Class D technology of the amplifier. It's comforting to know that the designers have done their homework and come up with a hi-tech product that requires no special pleading. High efficiency and low weight are nice but if they make for poor sound we ain't interested, thanks.
On the contrary, this is overall a particularly beguiling piece of kit. Funnily enough, at times it sounded almost valve-like in its melodiousness, though not too many valve amps could match it for attack when the drummer takes a big solo. And it's fearless in the bass, too, with effortless extension that lacks little in control compared with some quite chunky ‘conventional' power amps.
So far, so impressive. We have some reservations, which mostly concern the minutiae of fine detail. Just now and then we did feel there was a little veiling of detail. Although it had little effect on the musical flow, this did leave us rather in the dark about the precise instrumentation, for instance, of large symphonic works, or about the placing of particular instruments in familiar tracks. Mind you, it's a little hard to know how unforgiving to be on this score. Taking our own estimate of a $2000 -odd amplifier plus similarly priced CD source, it's a valid criticism, but if we are to adopt as reference a $3500 assemblage of separates it's hardly a major sin.
In a similar vein, we noted some mild constriction in the treble from time to time – indeed it's quite possible that this is a symptom of the same cause as the veiling. It's worth bearing in mind, though, that similar flaws can be caused by unsuitable interconnect cables, a breed of component rendered largely redundant by the CDI10. In other words, the best separates you could care to name could end up similarly hampered by the wires connecting them!
In many areas, our enthusiasm was almost entirely without qualification. We've already mentioned the bass, and time and again, from Mahler to The Mavericks to Miles Davis, we enjoyed its combination of depth, rhythm and tune. The midrange we found gorgeously balanced tonally, and voices in any musical style (or spoken, for that matter) are beautifully flattered by the CDI10. It does make for a very inviting musical experience – and once the invitation has been accepted one is happy to stay for a good long while.
Our comments so far apply basically to the most obvious mode – internal CD player feeding the internal amplifier. Testing these portions separately, we were inclined to judge the CD section as more detailed than the amp, though oddly it seemed a little bland. Of course, what that really means is that the amp adds a touch of excitement, which we were able to confirm by feeding it from various familiar reference sources, and if the flip side of that is the mild veiling we noted then so be it. Many users will be happy with that, us included at this price.
You'll be wondering about the radio section. Well... in truth, we're not blown away. The FM is only middling, with veiling present as persistent muddle and background noise. But DAB is perfectly okay, given our well-rehearsed reservations over the format itself. But if DAB appeals, this is a neat and satisfactory solution. Oh, and the built-in analogue-to-digital converter is a nice touch that sounds at least as good as those in any CD recorder.
This is a tasty-looking bit of kit that performs very comfortably above the level of most separates stacks we could assemble at its price. It's also pleasant and convenient to use... as long as you don't lose the remote control (operation is tedious without)! It won't appeal much to tweakers or cable manufacturers, but if you want high-quality, hassle-free sounds, it's a very attractive proposition.
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Primare CDI10 ¦$3500 ¦
¦www.synergy-audio.com
For: A practical and space saving solution
Against: Fine detail is not the best
Conclusion: The best of the one-box CD systems.
