Предусилители — Primare PRE35 DAC

The PRE35 DAC from Primare of Sweden is the PRE35 stereo preamplifier fitted with the DM36 converter module. The base unit is modular, so the DAC board and the SM35 Prisma network module can be installed at purchase or added at any later point. Primare designed its analogue preamplification as a fully balanced circuit. In the US the analogue-only PRE35 lists at USD 4,199, while the fully equipped version with converter and Prisma streaming costs about USD 5,000.

Key specs that matter

Analogue sources plug into two stereo XLR pairs and three stereo RCA pairs. Outputs comprise two balanced XLR pre-outs, one variable RCA pre-out and one fixed-level RCA line output. The DM36 module adds galvanically isolated USB together with optical, coaxial S/PDIF and AES/EBU connections. It handles PCM up to 384 kHz with 32 bits and DSD256, with optional upsampling and full MQA decoding. The streaming version has a range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz, distortion of 0.002 percent across that band, a signal to noise ratio above 100 dB and 16.5 dB of gain at the preamplifier output. The chassis is 430 mm wide, 106 mm high and 420 mm deep, and the weight is 11.3 kg.

Engineering and use context

An ESS Sabre chip on the DM36 board does the conversion. The USB input is galvanically isolated from the computer ground. Volume runs in steps from 0 to 99, adjusted by the front knob or the supplied C25 IR handset. Control connections include IR in and out on 3.5 mm jacks, a 12 V trigger output and an RS232 port for outboard system control. The module is also compatible with WiSA wireless speakers. Primare offers the casework in titanium or black. Once the Prisma module is added as well, the unit gains AirPlay, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth and DLNA or UPnP playback, together with two Ethernet LAN ports and Wi-Fi antennas. Because the converter lives on a plug-in board, an owner of the plain PRE35 can upgrade without replacing the chassis.

Pairing

With a pair of balanced pre-outs, the PRE35 DAC can feed a main stereo power amp while the second XLR set goes to a powered sub or another amplifier. The trigger output can switch on a matching power amplifier together with the preamplifier. With both RCA and XLR inputs, older unbalanced sources and newer balanced ones can share the unit.

Alternatives

The Primare PRE60 is a higher-priced preamplifier with a built-in DAC and streamer, two balanced and four RCA inputs, and a list price of USD 10,000.