Page 33 - 2022-08-01 Sound & Vision

exactly the same but compensates To power the odd-man-out
for the 6dB increase in input-sensi- (le rear) height channel, I used
tivity bridging engenders, allowing
a mix of bridged and unbridged
speakers to remain aligned in level.
Bridging provides the flex-
ibility to accommodate a number
of different system layouts, with
or without an additional amplifier
(such as Primare’s two-channel
A35.2). Using the A35.8 alone, for
example, you could bridge three
pairs of outputs to drive the front
le , center, and right speakers
in a 5.1 system and use the two
remaining outputs to drive the rear
surround speakers. For a 5.1.2
(Atmos) or 7.1 setup, you would
bridge one pair of outputs to drive
the center speaker and use the
remaining six outputs to power the
rest of the speakers. For systems
with more speakers, such as my
5.1.4 Atmos setup, you will need an
additional amplifier, which may be
a stumbling block for some. All of
these scenarios, of course, assume
a powered subwoofer.
SETUP
Primare obligingly sent along
a sample of its Pre35 Prisma
preamplifier/streamer, which has
balanced outputs optimized for its
sister amp, so I dutifully connected
it up with the A35.8 for my initial
stereo listening. With eight chan- a whole ‘nuther rant.)
nels on the table, I divided my
listening into four sessions. First,
with two of the amplifier’s eight
channels (3 and 5, if it ma ers)
driving my Energy 2.2 three-way,
stand-mount speakers full-range.
Next, with two sets of channels
(3-4 and 5-6) bridged, once again
running full-range stereo. Third,
with all eight channels bridged
into four 700-plus-wa channels
driving the Energys in a bi-amped
configuration with one über-
channel feeding each woofer or
midrange/tweeter complement.
Lastly, for multichannel
music and movie soundtracks, I
switched back to my own preamp-
processor, using all eight of the
A35.8’s channels to drive eight of
the nine speakers in my 5.1.4 Dolby
Atmos setup with the Energy 2.2s
in the front L/R positions (all of
the additional speakers were of
the two-way cone/dome variety).
So, unsurprising to me, during
one channel of my everyday 7 x
150-wa amplifier. For the record, I
reverted to regular ol’ unbalanced
RCA connections for the surround
setup—I only have four high-
quality XLR cables.
PERFORMANCE
That’s a lot of build-up for what
is in its essence a very short
report: Primare’s A35.8 is a fully
transparent, totally competent,
and, depending on the load and
configuration, immensely powerful
amplifier. Regular readers may
recall that I ascribe nearly all
reports of power amplifier “sound”
to either inferior design—usually
input or output impedances that
induce substantial frequency-
response errors from component
interactions—or to subtle (or
not-so-subtle) non-linearities that
occur when an amplifier reaches
its limits or is approaching its limits
when “protection” circuits kick in.
(Of course, some amp “sounds”
surely fall to pure subjectivity. And
then there’s the host of amplifier
designs, o en tube-based, that
don’t a empt modern-design
transparency at all, but strive for
euphonic variation—I hesitate to
use the word “distortion.” But that’s
its unbridged two-channel
workout, the Primare sounded At a Glance
indistinguishable from my everyday
amp, a conventional class-A/B Fault-free sound quality
design that’s about 6 years old Flexible, with bridged-
and also rated to deliver 150 wa s mode, balanced options
into 8 ohms. On even the most
As much as 740 watts on
demanding program material, the tap in bridged mode
amp effortlessly drove my Energy
2.2 speakers to their useful limits, High quality fit and finish,
quiet Scandinavian looks
filling my room with sparkling,
dynamic sound. Did the Primare 8 channels (as opposed to
have an edge in top-volume 7 or 9) not ideal for some
home-theater systems
clarity and punch? I think so, but
such evaluations are tricky. First, Expensive
because A-B comparisons are
Price: $5,995
impractical, and second, because
primare.net
as we plumb the upper potential of
most amplifiers we are also probing
the nexus of loudspeaker limits
(although despite their age, the its four-channel, bridged mode,
Energy 2.2’s can absorb prodigious creating individual channels spec’d
amounts of clean power) and what I to deliver 740 wa s into 8 ohms.
think of as hearing overload (where A er a brief invocation—offering
the ear-brain system — mine, up 700-plus wa s to the Energy’s
anyway — rebels at unnatural loud- 1-inch tweeter/2-inch midrange
ness with distortions of its own). combo is not to be taken lightly
When I rewired the A35.8 for a since I can’t exactly pick up
bridged workout and created two replacements at RadioShack—I
channels out of four, I can’t say I set up each speaker for bi-amp
detected any change. With nearly operation and removed the
three times the power potential, jumpers between its low- and
the Primare amp wasn’t working as high-pass-inputs, allowing one
hard but, then again, its unbridged amp channel to drive the mid/
abilities were already more than tweeter array and the other the
sufficient for my needs. woofer. I crossed my fingers as I
Next, I reconfigured the amp in fired up one of the most dynamic
recordings I know—the Sheffield
Drum Record—and listened while
my aging Energy 2.2’s explored
their ultimate potential.
The sound was electrically
charged as I gingerly probed
drums playing at lifelike volumes.
And when I turned to a long-
favored SACD of Mahler’s first
symphony, selecting the two-
channel layer I usually skip over, I
reveled in the magisterial sound of
dynamically unrestricted orchestral
reproduction. The sound was
comparable with—though perhaps
incrementally be er than—what I
heard during the previous bridged
expedition.
But was all this power overkill?
Well, an orchestra playing late
romantic-era music can crest
110dB SPL (sound-pressure level)
on stage and get close to 100dB
at the front row. With speakers like
my Energys in the sub-85dB/1-
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