Page 34 - 2022-08-01 Sound & Vision
P. 34
test report
PRIMARE A35.8 8-CHANNEL POWER AMPLIFIER
meter sensitivity range, and with
a listening distance of more than
3 meters, the math suggests, “not
by all that much.” Having 12dB or
so of headroom above 20dBw
(100 wa s) is generous but not
unreasonable. Whatever the case,
the Energys never sounded be er
playing in two-channel. (And I
didn’t blow anything up!)
For the final act, I shi ed to
surround sound and connected
eight unbridged channels to
my everyday pre-pro using
unbalanced RCA connections. The Primare gets credit for, of course).
A35.8 breezed through The Black Again, my system never sounded POWER OUTPUT (all at 1 kHz): 8 x 150 wa s (8 ohms),
Keys’ multichannel-music romp so good. 8 x 300 wa s (4 ohms), 8 x 400 wa s (2 ohms); 740
“It Ain’t Over” (streamed in Dolby One final observation: The Specs wa s into 8 ohms, 750 wa s into 4 ohms, 450 wa s
Atmos over Tidal), propelling the A35.8’s signal-to-noise perfor- into 2 ohms (bridged channel pair); <0.005% THD +
bass and drums with delightful mance (and thus real-world N, 20Hz-20kHz, 10 wa s AES 17 at 8 ohms
impact and arching the dense dynamic range) is superb. With AUDIO INPUTS: Unbalanced RCA (8), balanced XLR
choruses up, over, and around the program paused with both (8) selectable via mini toggle
without breaking a sweat. balanced and unbalanced connec- AUDIO OUTPUTS: Multiway binding posts (8 pair)
The same was true for movies. tions, I walked around the room ADDITIONAL: 12v trigger in/out; RS-232 control interface; fused IEC
I watched a selection of favorite pressing my ear to the tweeter (or power inlet; Bridged and Bridged +6dB modes
scenes at THX theatrical (loud!) midrange driver) and heard only DIMENSIONS (WxHxD, inches): 17.2 x 5.8 x 16
levels, and streamed the full length the barest of whispers from the WEIGHT (pounds): 33
of Dune (2021) over HBO-Max with midrange and, even then, it was
praiseworthy results: there was only discernible from a distance
never a hint of any power shortfall of a half inch or less. It’s also worth amplifier, I explored most of spend two or even four times as
with the system playing without a noting that I never once saw them. At no point did Primare’s much per channel and, at least in
subwoofer in my 3,000-cubic-foot any of the A35.8’s eight clipping eight-channel design fall short in my opinion, gain nothing—except
room. Even more impressive was indicators (which blink through the quantity or quality of amplification, bragging rights.
the “rain” clip from the original cooling grilles in the top cover) light making ”bigger without change”
Dolby Atmos Blu-ray demo disc up in any mode. and without complaint, no ma er
with its 360-degree presentation of what I sent its way. That earns this The Verdict
mostly so wind and rain, punctu- CONCLUSION power amplifier a straight “A” in my
ated by distant thunder, which book (for an “A+,” Primare will need Eight channels of unimpeachable
rolled believably across all nine There are many uses for power, to add that ninth channel). Yes, the Class D power in a fairly compact
channels (only eight of which the and in my months with the A35.8 A35.8 is expensive, but you can and very flexible package.
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34 August September 2022 soundandvision.com
