The Primare R15 corrector is housed in a 35 cm wide case with a thick steel top cover, which serves as a reliable shield for interference-sensitive circuits. Hence the solid weight – 6.5 kg. On the rear panel there is one stereo RCA input and the same output. Remote control of activation via a 12-volt trigger is provided. Color options are black and silver, both with the company logo on the front panel. Externally, the device gives the impression of a high-quality, thoroughly made thing. The kit includes a plastic indicator that allows you to correctly determine the phase of connection to the network of all system components. In some cases, this can reduce the background level.
Under the cover-casing of the Primare R15 we see that its power system is quite serious: a toroidal transformer in a sealed shield and several rectifiers with stabilizers. The voltage from the outlet passes through a surge protector on common-mode RF transformers. When the power is turned on, the signal is sent to the output with a delay after all operating modes have been established in the circuit. Accordingly, no clicks are heard in the speakers.
In addition to the mass of decoupling circuits along the power buses, audiophile-grade film capacitors are visible on the board. Another distinctive feature of the Primare R15 is its ability to work with almost any heads. DIP switches on the rear panel allow you to select the optimal input parameters for cartridges with different requirements. The load resistance for MC cartridges is selected from the six most current values - 30, 50, 75, 100,200 and 500 Ohms, and the input capacitance from two – 100 and 1000 picofarads. For MM, the settings are as follows: resistances are 47 and 2.5 kOhm, and capacitances are 100, 200, 300 and 400 picofarads. How to set the required parameters is clearly shown in the user manual.
Since the heads have different output voltages, gain control is also provided – 40/45 dB in MM mode and 60/65 dB in MC. The “extra” 5 dB will allow you to get a standard voltage at the output of the corrector if the signal at its input is less than the nominal one. The rumble filter, switchable with a toggle switch on the rear panel, attenuates infra-low frequencies from 12 Hz with a slope of 12 dB per octave. Previously, such circuits were introduced into the path to work with inexpensive players that have an increased level of mechanical rumble, but nowadays, low-frequency cutoff is useful when playing curved records in a system with large floor-standing speakers.
The maximum voltage at the output of the corrector is 11 V, and a simple calculation gives an overload margin of about 27 dB. This is a high value that allows distortion-free playback of high-amplitude tracks found on older deep groove records and 45 rpm singles with extended dynamic range.
Other important parameters of the Primare R15 are also excellent: the signal-to-noise ratio is less than -83 dB in MM mode and less than -74 dB in MC, frequency response deviations from the recommended RIAA do not exceed ±0.2 dB in the range of 20 Hz – 20 kHz.
Characteristics of Primare R15
Number of channels 2
S/N ratio, dB 83/74 dB (MM/MS)
Harmonic coefficient, % 0.02/0.03 (MM/MS)
Gain factor, dB 40.45/60.65 dB ( MM/MC)
Input impedance 2.5, 47 kOhm/30-500 Ohm (MM/MC)
Output impedance 100 Ohm
Output voltage 11 V
Channel separation, dB 80/77 (MM/MC)
Phono stage MM/MC type
Inputs: Analog audio 1 x RCA, 1 x 3.5 mm trigger
Outputs: Analog audio 1 x RCA, 1 x 3.5 mm trigger
Dimensions, mm 350 x 313 x 73
Weight, kg 6.5
