PRIMARE I32

The Primare I32 is not a slouch – it is a slim unit that weighs only 11kg, however, it can send 2x120W (into 8 ohms) or 2x230W (into 4 ohms) of power to a pair of speakers. The trick is in its class D mode; the I32 does not need a massive and heavy transformer neither it is armed with oversized heatsinks as the voltage conversion is efficient and produces minimum losses. Therefore the I32 is not really sensitive to placement and saves quite money from your pocket on electricity bills. The Class D amplifiers are for the aforementioned reasons (efficiency and size) used extensively in subwoofers and multichannel AV receivers, however, in highend applications there used to be issues associated with their instability at high frequencies due to insufficient feedback in their switching mode, resulting into typical artifacts like distortion, grain and harshness. Some developers use outsourced modules to tackle this (we reviewed Rotel’s RB-1091 that utilizes Bang & Olufsen’s IcePower circuitry), others, like Primare, developed their own solution. Primare uses ultrafast UFPD technology to monitor and control the feedback across the entire audio band so that the amplifier would be insensitive to impedance changes. On top of that it employs proprietary PFC (Power Factor Control) circuitry to synchronize sine waves of the power source with the mains voltage. As a result the I32 should be able to drive basically any speaker on the planet plus it should be less prone to EMI generated noise.