Will Primare I30 be a good match for CM9?

[exSG]

Hi,

Does anyone know whether the I30 would pair well with the cm9? I have heard the I21 with it and it sounded bright and under-powered.

Have just ordered a pair in rosenut without demo-ing it together. Always wanted a floor-stander after 2 pairs of book-shelf speakers. Read the reviews and decided to take the plunge.

Would love to have the 804s or 803s second-hand but am concerned that I need to upgrade to a pre-power to match it well. Have the 805s for a few years now and know they are power-hungry.

Thanks.

[specialized]

Hi,

Does anyone know whether the I30 would pair well with the cm9? I have heard the I21 with it and it sounded bright and under-powered.

Have just ordered a pair in rosenut without demo-ing it together. Always wanted a floor-stander after 2 pairs of book-shelf speakers. Read the reviews and decided to take the plunge.

Would love to have the 804s or 803s second-hand but am concerned that I need to upgrade to a pre-power to match it well. Have the 805s for a few years now and know they are power-hungry.

Thanks.

I had a chance to try Primare A32 on my 803s, McIntosh C2300 Preamp..

I tested Primare A32 vs:

1. Rotel RB-1080
2. Rotel RB-1080 biamped , one rotel per speaker
3. McIntosh MC275

We all agreed that Primare dissapoint us.. The sound was very electronic and very harsh.. Mc 275 was the best one with vocals and acostic instruments. But too bad that it was not enough for the 803s (when there was a passage with a lot of instruments or dinamics , i can feel that it lacks power). But still sounded much much better then Primare.

Primare sound was not sofisticated at all.. Type of amp that u use for some Punk or Rock party Just to get loud noise without enjoyment..

We prefer Rotel compared to Primare.. (not as sofisticated as MC275, but on big bands or a lot instruments it sounded totaly ok).

Hope this helps.. And just to say that after reading so much positive reviews of A32 we all got very suprised .. We doubted that maybe that demo peace i had a chance to tried was maybe serviced non properly ( i noticed marks on the screws, sign that was oppened).

Also i had a chance to listen CM9 connected on RB-1070, and i got impressed (after that listening i got last RB-1070 they have on stock for my Rears (805s). So maybe u should try Rotel? Or definitly try each against other if u can Rotel vs Primare


greetings

Darko

[exSG]

Hi Darko,

Thanks for sharing your experience. Hopefully, the cm9s wouldn't be as demanding as the 800 series.

If it doesn't work out, I will seriously consider upgrading to rotel pre/power.

[SoundEngine355]

Hi,

Does anyone know whether the I30 would pair well with the cm9? I have heard the I21 with it and it sounded bright and under-powered.

Have just ordered a pair in rosenut without demo-ing it together. Always wanted a floor-stander after 2 pairs of book-shelf speakers. Read the reviews and decided to take the plunge.

Would love to have the 804s or 803s second-hand but am concerned that I need to upgrade to a pre-power to match it well. Have the 805s for a few years now and know they are power-hungry.

Thanks.

Yes.

[exSG]

I have my cm9 3 days now and it has clocked around 20+ hours.

Thankfully, it does pair rather well with my I30. No sign of discernable strain.

The source is NAD C542 and connected with belden i/c and power cable, and MIT AVT2 biwire.

Here's my take on the performance in comparison to my 805s:

1. It lacks the pinpoint imaging and resolution

2. Its highs are not as crisp

3. Instrument separation isn't as good

4. Soundstage is not as deep

5. It has much better bottom end authority being a floorstander

6. It plays louder

7. It has a bigger sound having more drivers

8. Its cabinet isn't as nice considering the shape, design and texture of the 800s

It was a bit of a disappointment for me as I am used to the sound quality of the 805s. On the flip side, I am thankful that it didn't sound as bad as Sonus Faber Concerto Domus floorstanders when I hooked them to the I30 some years back.

In comparison to its competition such as Dynaudio's Focus, Triangles, Spendor, Monitor Audio, ProAc Studios and Totem, I think they are value-for-money.

Btw, does anyone have the last few pages of the review for it in Hifi World? The review is posted on B&W's website but not the concluding page. Would love to know how it was finally rated.

Cheers!