Review of new Budget Streamer: the D-Stream Primo HD
I came to know about this device by virtue of being a NuPrime customer. A while back I received an email from NuPrime concerning various streaming products by the French company, D-Stream. It emerged that one of the new D-Stream products – the Primo HD - was a development of an earlier NuPrime device, the WR-100. Initially I dismissed the new device as a budget offering, unlikely to meet my sound quality expectations. However, a positive review by Qobuz coincided with my decision to acquire a new streaming device for a bedroom system. Initially I had thought to acquire another Raspberry Pi based device, but the low price of the Primo HD (£79 on Amazon) and the positive Qobuz review prompted me to give it a try.
I was not really prepared for the small size of the unit, which is around the size of two Raspberry Pi boards stacked on top of each other. It comes with its own 5 V power supply and USB cable. The Primo can be used either as a renderer via an optical connection or as a fully-fledged streamer through its inbuilt DAC. Audio out is through a stereo 3.5 mm socket though no suitable cable is provided in the box.
Installation is remarkably simple and involves downloading a free Android or Apple D-Stream app. On first running of the app the user is prompted to register an account and then the Primo device itself. This can be done either by Wifi connection or by my preferred option of ethernet cable. The app is especially impressive since it has native support for Tidal, Deezer, Spotify and Qobuz as well as options for internet radio, podcasts and network media. I initially installed the Primo in my main system using an optical connection to my DAC. On first listening I felt that the treble and bass were somewhat curtailed although this became less of an issue after I had left it running unattended for a week or so. After this “burn in” the device sounded much more natural. Ultimately, the device did not have the resolving power of a top end streamer or renderer but overall, I would say that the problems were those of omission rather than commission. Bass textures and timbres were not resolved as well as they might be on a more expensive device and the treble was not the most detailed or extended. On the positive side, the sound was very smooth with no problems of sibilance or glare. In truth, it was not as impressive when used as a streamer through its own inbuilt DAC. In part, this might be due to the relatively low output of the device which may pose problems for those, like me, with passive preamps. I doubt whether this will be a problem for those with integrated amps with active pre-amp sections.
After this preliminary testing I then installed the Primo in its intended location, namely, my bedroom system. It is connected via an optical cable to a Nuforce DDA-100 amp. In this setup, the limitations of the device are less obvious. Since I am using small though high quality bookshelf speakers, the lack of ultimate bass extension is less of a problem.
Would I recommend this device to others? The answer is a qualified yes. For the price I doubt whether there is a better and more user-friendly digital source. Compared to a Raspberry Pi solution it is genuinely plug and play and the dedicated app is a delight to use. The case is a simple black acrylic construction, and has all connections on the rear panel meaning that it can be more tidily connected. For its £79 price one could just about purchase a raspberry Pi board, acrylic case, microSD card, and USB power supply, but would then need to acquire a digital audio board which would push up the price. Something like my own Allo Digione board, is superior but the board alone costs much more than the entire Primo package. This setup would also require an external DAC whereas the Primo has its own inbuilt DAC and can be run into any amp with phono plug inputs.
If you are looking to dip your toe into the streaming water but are put off by the prospect of assembling an RPi based system you might want to give it a try. I am very pleased with mine. It's great to be able to listen to my Tidal files in bed!
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Originally Posted by mikeyb
