Primare
OUR STORY
During the early 1980’s, leading Danish industrial designer and passionate audiophile Bo Christensen set out to create a new kind of audio company. Frustrated by the sound quality, aesthetics, and user interface of typical audio gear, he created a team of designers, which included gifted engineer Bent Nielsen, to form a technology group named Primare Systems AB. Their corporate mission was, first and foremost, design components of exceptional sound quality. Secondly, the products must have an elegant appearance, precise proportions and a user-friendly interface. Additionally, it was decided to eschew the industry standard twelve-month product life cycle and instead develop “living products” that could easily evolve as technologies and methodologies changed.
The potent combination of clean Scandinavian design, simple yet elegant circuitry, and straightforward operation created audio components of uncanny originality.
TIME LINE
1986: 928 Series
Introduced shortly after being founded in 1985, Primare’s first products, the 928 series, embodied a true “minimalist aesthetic” that was in stark contrast to the typical “button-cluttered” audio components of the day.
1992: 200 Series
The somewhat more radical 200 Series was acclaimed for its innovative and groundbreaking industrial design. It included not only a preamplifier, mono amplifiers, a tuner, and CD player, but also a system remote, unique at the time for ultra-high-end designs.
1994: 300 Series
In 1994, before leaving Primare, Bo developed the 300 series. Primare was transformed with the advent of these products. Not only was Primare’s ongoing aesthetic idiom firmly established, but also the new design approach allowed Bent to better craft the circuitry within for improved performance.
1998: 30 Series
In 1993 Primare formed an association with another Swedish audio company Xena, known for the popular Scandinavian brands Copland and QLN. This partnership fused the design and business talents of Mr. Nielsen and Xena’s Lars Pedersen, setting a new course for Primare, resulting in the 1998 introduction of the 30 series, the basis for all future designs.
- 2000: AV products introduced: V20 DVD player, P30 Processor A30.5, 5 channel power amplifier
- 2002: SP31.7 AV preamp/processor, SPA20 AV integrated amplifier, DVD25 DVD player
- 2003: DVD30 Universal disc player
- 2004: SPA21 AV integrated amplifier, SP31 AV preamp/processor, new 20 and 30 series products including the I30 integrated amplifier and DVD26 DVD player
- 2007: CDI10 one-box system using radical, for the time, new class D modules
- 2008: DVDI 10 DVD/CD one-box system. Primare introduces modular design with SPA 22 AV integrated and SP32 7-channel preamp/processor. SPA22 first with UFPD Class D technology
2010: New 30 and 20 Series
New 30 and 20 series models introduced, adopting modular design for two channel product with upgradable I32 integrated amplifier with optional MM30 network player module , CD32 CD Player, R32 phono stage, and I22 integrated amplifier with optional DAC module.
In 2011, CD32/I32 system wins EISA Best Product Award.
- 2012: Primare embraces audiophile computer audio and streaming with DAC30 and MM30 media upgrade for I32 and PRE32
- 2013: NP30 network player and APP control application launched
- 2014: Primare 60 Series and AIR streaming app launched
2017: Prisma
Prisma, a new control and connectivity technology is introduced with the I15 Prisma integrated amplifier, CD35 Prisma CD player, and I35 Prisma integrated amplifier, the latter featuring the new UFPD 2 amplifier technology.
Everything in balance, harmony, and proportion
For thirty years, Primare, based in southern Sweden, has been designing and producing award-winning hi-fi components that bring the Scandinavian attributes of honest integrity and timeless design to a global audience.
Every Primare product reflects a commitment to Scandinavian ideals such as lagom – the sense of true satisfaction that comes from balance and harmony. Not too much. Not too little. Just right.
With a modular, environmentally conscious approach that complements core values of lasting quality, ease of use and deeply satisfying performance, Primare effortlessly delivers today’s ever-expanding music and visual experiences in all their richness and variety, whether the source is analog or digital, wired or wireless, stored or streamed.
Primare – the sound and vision of Scandinavia.
PHILOSOPHY
The goal is to provide the best possible experience
for the greatest number of people, whether the source is
analogue or digital, stored or streamed, wired or wireless.
WHAT GUIDES US
Primare is a Scandinavian company, and many of the distinctive characteristics of the brand are rooted in Scandinavian culture – in a particular way of living, and of experiencing music and film. An inherent part of the cultural landscape of Scandinavia is the idea that in all things there should be a sense of proportion and balance, of all elements working cohesively together.
Lagom
Lagom (“laah-goam”) is the Swedish word for this: roughly meaning “just the right amount.” Not too much. Not too little. Everything in perfect balance, harmony, and proportion. Implicit in our definition of lagom is the sense that no aspect of a Primare product, in either appearance or performance, should draw attention to itself – that the music should be the primary experience and the perception of technology at work should disappear.
For thirty years Primare has embodied this holistic design approach. Each and every product is a harmonious blend of technology and functionality, the components having been developed to deliver effortless audio purity and ease of use. The many design and production innovations that enable a Primare component to deliver uniquely harmonious and balanced performance can be illustrated, but there is no measure of its ability to exhilarate and satisfy. That feeling is immeasurable. Ultimately, and true to this idea of lagom, the Primare experience simply feels right.
Lagom – when things simply feel right. You will know it when you see and hear Primare.
lagom – a sense of proportion and balance, of all elements working cohesively together
Hygge
hygge (“heu-gah”) is a Danish word that is often translated as “cozy.” But the word hygge means so much more, and may be considered the highest expression of living – that deep satisfaction of time well spent, of sharing food, drink, music, and movies with family and friends in the simple celebration of everyday living.
Hygge seems to be a direct response to the harsh and unforgiving, yet spectacular and inspiring, natural world of Scandinavia – where there’s a deep and abiding connection felt for the earth and, particularly, the unique landscape and climate. There, the long, dark winter is not necessarily something to be endured, but rather enjoyed, in part because it allows for the most intense moments of hygge.
Hygge almost invariably involves being around a fire or candle to provide a sense of warmth and well-being. By extension, Primare components are designed with hygge in mind, in a sense to take the role of this flame.
Primare’s goal is to provide performance that allows for a deeply satisfying shared experience of music and film – to heighten the hygge.
hygge – that deep satisfaction of time well spent,…in the simple celebration of everyday living
Practical Design Approach
Primare practices a practical design approach. Product development is based on sound fundamental principles of thoroughly implemented power supply designs and artfully crafted ultra-short signal paths, so that each individual component and sub circuit operates sympathetically to achieve a cohesive whole.
Primare constantly scans the horizon for new developments, and is often at the forefront of new technologies, having been among the first to embrace streaming and stored digital technologies, as well as class D amplification for true high-end performance. However, product development decisions are never made with marketing in mind – for the purposes of drawing attention. Rather a new feature is implemented or component part used only if a profound performance improvement will be realized.
For this reason, Primare prefers to perfect rather than pioneer; to produce only products that significantly improve upon what was previously available, with fierce devotion to using whatever technology can provide the best experience, and with a steadfast conviction to building products that have the broadest possible long-term use value.
Modularity
We feel it is essential to offer modular design in as many of our products as we can, in order to give you the power to choose just the features required to meet a wide variety of system needs, and the reassurance that as technology changes you can still use and appreciate the timeless quality of Primare design for years to come.
System building
For example, the I35 Prisma is available with full analog, as well as disc, stored or streamed digital media connectivity and control, with an analog only option in the I35, or analog with digital to analog conversion technology in the I35 DAC.
The CD35 Prisma is an extraordinarily versatile digital media source, but for those who do not need stored or streamed media access and prefer the functionality of a dedicated CD Player, the CD35 provides that option.
The full potential Class D has to offer
It is Primare’s practice to introduce new models only when they can significantly improve on the performance of our current designs. The company continuously scans the horizon to see what new and innovative options in design, technology, and materials might allow for truly significant improvements. In Class D amplification, we found a basic amplification technology so rich in benefits that it was the obvious choice upon which to base all future amplifier designs.
Years of research and development, a bit of inspiration, and considered critical listening have resulted in Ultra Fast Power Device (UFPD) technology that realizes the full potential Class D has to offer. A Primare UFPD based amplifier can provide massive, stable, low-distortion power output over the entire ruler-flat frequency bandwidth into any speaker load with minimal operating power draw from the wall and no negative effects on the power supplied to partnering system components – and all that with positive considerations for AC power demands and heat, leading to an easily installed, compact cabinet.
For Primare, UFPD is the ultimate building block for the present and future production of amplifiers that provide the most revealing and musical performance, bringing the listener closer to the recording than ever before.
And now, we have the pleasure of introducing the latest thinking in UFPD, UFPD 2, introduced in select new Prisma models, like the I35 Prisma.
To find out how UFPD is like a high-performance electric car, take a look at Primare UFPD Amplfication.
For details on our latest amplifier technology, check out UFPD 2 Design Brief.