Monrio is an Italian firm with a refreshingly trustworthy intention, “Our pretension is neither to deliver an actual listening expertise to your own home – it’s not doable to do it – nor to mimic the truth however to characterize it in the very best method.”
Few corporations have the power of character to be this open about their strategy. It does, in fact, grant Monrio founder Giovanni Gadzola licence to make extremely private merchandise, however the truth that he has been promoting them for over three a long time means that his tastes are usually not distinctive.
The Prime Loader 2 is Monrio’s penultimate CD participant and fairly a classy conglomeration of aluminium and acrylic it’s too, the query is does it sound nearly as good because it seems to be?
Extra substance
Gadzola began out within the seventies making amplifiers and has subsequently grown the vary to incorporate phono levels, DACs, pre and energy amplifiers and 4 CD gamers.
A lot of the low-power circuits that Monrio builds incorporate valves and that is true of the penultimate disc participant that we now have right here. And as is the Italian method, the styling may be very sturdy on this machine. However this doesn’t all the time tally with nice ergonomics, a scenario that was barely exacerbated by the non-arrival of the distant handset.
The Prime Loader 2 was constructed for patrons who need the qualities of the corporate’s greatest participant, the Prime Loader 3, however with out the price, so the casework is extra historically formed and the electronics simplified. The case continues to be fairly substantial and fantastically completed – Monrio is eager to maintain resonance at bay and so builds heavy and powerful utilizing aluminium extrusions for max rigidity.
The TL 3 has two valves protruding from its flank and these similar valves could be discovered contained in the extra inexpensive participant. They’re 12AU7 triodes with high-voltage transistor regulation fed by a ‘generously rated’ toroidal transformer with separate windings for the varied sections of the participant.
It has twin Sigma/Delta DACs and makes use of an I2S bus to maintain audio sign and clock information separate previous to conversion. Analogue output is by way of single-ended or balanced connections and a digital sign could be output from the one coaxial connection.
The unusually slim management buttons look good, however are somewhat quick on tactile response, there may be little or no give whenever you press them. Doing so elicits a response, nevertheless, and after a whilst you be taught to not press too onerous.
The bigger management on the appropriate of the facia seems to be prefer it may revolve to pick out tracks however solely appears to be a standby change. It is a solidly constructed machine in all respects, apart from the acrylic cowl that slides over the disc bay.
It seems to be good with its blue tint, however would not function all that easily. Discs must be held in place with a magnetic puck and the participant spins up whenever you shut the quilt, a system that does imply you may cease playback by merely sliding the lid again, which makes for button free disc modifications.
On the tin
This can be a great-looking machine with sturdy design and a variety of aptitude for the cash. Its look is barely undermined by the ergonomics, however disc cowl apart, most of those are much less of a difficulty you probably have the distant.
It isn’t large on options, there isn’t any digital enter as is the prevailing style, so you may’t connect a streamer or PC and there is definitely no USB enter for max flexibility. This can be a CD participant pure and easy, albeit one with a pair of valves inside, not many glass-powered gamers are all that feature-rich.
Construct is usually good with first rate casework alignment and an encouraging solidity. The toes look pretty mundane however are, in actual fact, spiked with a padded foot to keep away from injury to the supporting floor.
At this worth there may be various competitors for Monrio. For instance, we very a lot preferred Denon’s DCD-2010AE, a £1,700 machine that won’t have the fashion on supply right here, however it performs SACD and has loads of assist to your iPod. Naim’s CD5 XS (£1,825) provides openness, in addition to superb high quality timing on prime of the marque’s sturdy status for musicality. The one machine we have seen in current instances that competes when it comes to fashion is the Consonance Droplet CDP3.1 (£1,995), which is much more extravagant in look and in addition has valves below the pores and skin.
Open and shut
Within the listening room we hooked the TL2 as much as Townshend’s new Glastonbury Pre, a pair of Mark Levinson No.53 monoblocks and PMC’s reality 8 loudspeakers. If it would not sound good by this lot it by no means will.
Happily it does, however with a distinctly relaxed manner that tallies with Monrio’s musical expertise somewhat than tried realism philosophy. It does this very nicely, because of an excellent sense of timing, calm presentation and excessive musicality – as soon as an excellent monitor is taking part in there is no such thing as a inclination to show it off and transfer onto the subsequent and even with high-end gamers this is not all the time the case.
Whereas the valves make it a bit too relaxed to be thought of a tempo, rhythm and timing fashion participant, its sturdy sense of involvement places in competition with that sort of machine. Subsequent to a Leema Antila you may hear that it’s distinctly missing in spatial decision; the Leema sounds extraordinarily open, has a variety of depth and a higher sense of realism. The Antila is a dearer machine, however there are extra intently priced gamers that ship a equally open sound.
Modern definition could be enhanced with the appropriate selection of interconnect – we tried some TMS Pulse B rather than the standard Townshend Isolda DCT100 and this enhanced the sense of pace, however undermined the Monrio’s ease at excessive ranges. There aren’t to our information, any cables that may make this participant sound actually open however in the event you can reside with that it is a very partaking disc-spinner with its coronary heart in the appropriate place.
Internship middle
Very straightforward to reside with from a sonic viewpoint, the Prime Loader 2 is a handsome participant that can be very sturdy on appeal. It would not have the transparency or urgency of the very best at this worth however it does make you wish to take heed to your music and that is a basic high quality of fine hi-fi .
It will get very near offsetting its limitations with its capacity to focus the listener on all that is transcendant within the music, however whether or not you’ll really feel it will get the steadiness proper is a matter of style and for that matter system-matching. However in the event you aren’t listening sufficient it might nicely have the facility to place music again in your life.
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