Digital Drive: REVIEW: Primare CD31 CD Player/Recorder by Luminator

Model:	CD31
Category:	CD Player/Recorder
Suggested Retail Price:	$2295
Description:	One-box CD player
Manufacturer URL:	Primare

Review by Luminator on November 11, 2011 at 10:04:00
IP Address: 38.122.6.26 Add Your Review
for the CD31

Everything you need to know about the Primare CD31 can be found by clicking on the following links. Unlike my other reviews, you can read them in any order you like. However, they may make more sense, if you read them in order.

Riptide - box
The Final Countdown - top
The Pacific Age - rear
Whiplash Smile - bottom
Fields Of Fire - front panel controls
Trilogy - load time, table of contents
Somewhere In Time - remote
Boomtown - track times
Fahrenheit - disc times
Third Stage - powercords
First Band On The Moon - interconnects
Psychotic Supper - interconnects
KBC Band - powercords
Scoundrel Days - powercords
Universal - powercords
No More Tears - interconnects
Please - fast search
Ritual Of Love - vs. Cambridge Audio Azur 840C
Raise The Pressure - interconnects

As of this writing, at least 15 different audiophiles have asked me to compare the Primare CD31 to other CD players. So here we go.

vs. California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss

No contest. The Primare CD31 makes the CAL Icon M2PB sound lumpy, congested, and a bit dirty. My ol' friend Chris referred to the Icon as "scrunched up."

vs. dCS Puccini

In side-by-side comparisons, the CD31 and Puccini's drawers make similar noises. However, once a disc is spinning, the CD31 is silent, while the Puccini makes a whirring, clicking noise. Therefore, if you listen in the silence of a headphone system, you will not hear the CD31 operating, but you will be aware of the Puccini spinning.

Both offer a subjectively clean overall presentation. This is evident, when playing Yngwie Malmsteen's gem, "Crystal Ball." The CD31 offers better PRAT and stomp, especially when the kick drum enters. Via the CD31, the images are appropriately larger. Via the Puccini, the images are a perfectly scaled miniature train set. Do you work in a large high-rise building? If the lobby has a model of the building, the Puccini would be a model with accurate proportions and details. Even with a studio recording such as Malmsteen's Odyssey , the Puccini offers more absolute soundstage depth.

"Heaven Tonight" provides an interesting contrast. Both CD players correctly present this song as a whitish wall of sound. But in small rooms (as is typical here in the Bay Area), the Puccini's soundstage depth provides a much-needed sense of distance between that wall of sound and the listener. In larger rooms, the CD31's bigger images, coupled with good see-through transparency, provide a more "present," in-the-room vibe. Joe Lynn Turner's voice and Malmsteen's Strat seem to soar just a bit higher.

vs. Simaudio Andromeda

Cue up Lita Ford's "Kiss Me Deadly." The Primare CD31, with its excellent handling of PRAT, will have you swingin'. But the Simaudio Andromeda digs deeper, so it goes even further. It has all that swing, but it also has emotion, power, and drive. With exemplary fashion, the Andromeda handles "Close My Eyes Forever's" guitar strings, vocal enunciation, breath, and space between images. Not only should you do a double-take, by believing that Ford and Ozzy Osbourne are in your room, but you should be gripped by and carried away with passion.

vs. Wadia 781i

In January 1988, I was a high school junior. We kicked off the Spring '88 semester with David Lee Roth's "Just Like Paradise." This isn't a song you sit down in your sweet spot to. It makes you feel like getting up and going out. There was nothing like ambling down the high school halls, meeting up with friends, forming a circle, and singing the outro [we also did this to Aerosmith's "Angel"].

Via the CD31, "Just Like Paradise" sounds open, with good enthusiasm to the vocals. The CD31 compels you to get out of the listening chair -- which is a good thing!

Speaking of standing up, play Roth's "Stand Up." Here, it becomes clear that, despite the CD31's good imaging, the Wadia 781i goes a step or two further. The 781i gets the body of the images more fully. Furthermore, the 781i more firmly anchors the image within the soundstage. All the while, the 781i preserves instrumental color. Thus, the music has both poise and power.

The CD31 reminds me of when I was a high school junior. I was skinnier, and could play all day. In spurts, I was faster.

The 781i reminds me of when I was in college. By then, I had filled out, become stronger. But the biggest gain was in experience, and thus, smarts. I didn't waste energy, running all around. I thought defense first. I placed an emphasis on positioning and conditioning. I didn't overreact, to errors or stellar plays. Mentally, I paid attention to what I could control, and did a better job at ignoring red herrings. I didn't try to force the issue; I let the game come to me. I engaged the refs, rather than making them adversaries.

Is the Primare CD31 for you? I can't make that decision for you. But I've armed you with enough information, so that you can inventory your own needs and biases, and determine if the CD31 (a) should be removed from your consideration, or (b) is worth an audition.

-Lummy The Loch Monster

Product Weakness:	no digital inputs; 10-second load time; tiny, difficult-to-read display; "stop" and "open" are combined on one button; no Table Of Contents; RCA and XLR analog outputs cannot be used simultaneously; not actually made in Sweden
Product Strengths:	has all 4 time modes; looks nice in "titanium;" discs spin quietly; RCA and XLR analog outputs sound identical; multiple-speed fast search; runs warm, not hot; polarity correct

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Classe' CA-2100; Jeff Rowland 312
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Classe' CP-500; Jeff Rowland Criterion
Sources (CDP/Turntable): numerous
Speakers: AKG K701; Jospeh Aduio Pulsar; Totem The One
Cables/Interconnects: numerous
Music Used (Genre/Selections): rock, pop, oldies, R&B
Type of Audition/Review: Home Audition

Amplifier:	Classe' CA-2100; Jeff Rowland 312
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Classe' CP-500; Jeff Rowland Criterion
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	numerous
Speakers:	AKG K701; Jospeh Aduio Pulsar; Totem The One
Cables/Interconnects:	numerous
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	rock, pop, oldies, R&B
Type of Audition/Review:	Home Audition