It’s good to see that high-end audio manufacturing is still thriving in Europe with brands like Linn, Naim, Quad, Focal and Volumio producing some truly innovative products. Volumio is an Italian pioneer in digital streaming and located in the heart of Florence, Tuscany.
Volumio is behind VolumioOS and today the company announced the launch of Primo Plus, its latest and most advanced Streaming DAC. The new model has been engineered to deliver digital audio in audiophile quality. What is audiophile quality? It’s the absolute top tier in audio reproduction, where every ounce of nuance is squeezed from a recording, making it sound as if you were there.
This latest evolution of Volumio’s Primo, a product known for its high performance and versatility, is a compact and easy-to-install device that’s been designed as the ideal digital streamer for high-performance audio systems. It’s aimed at audiophiles and music enthusiasts, which hopefully are much the same thing.
Two Years Of Research
Volumio points out that the new Primo Plus isn’t just an improved version of the original model; it’s a completely new design and the result of two years of intensive research and development into streamers and DACs. Compared to the first Primo, this latest version offers more. For example, it features a dual-mono DAC design powered by two ESS ES9039Q2M chips, DACs known for their high definition and almost no crosstalk.
The new unit includes an improved power supply and OPAMPs for the lowest possible levels of distortion. There’s also a new clock design to provide jitter-free playback. On top of that, the Plus model now has more digital inputs so users can connect all their digital sources. The Plus also runs the latest version of VolumioOS with a rich set of features.
Michelangelo Guarise is the founder and CEO of Volumio. He leads Volumio’s team of creative minds, engineers, music enthusiasts and audiophiles. “At Volumio, we never stand still,” he says. “Our Primo has been a huge success, but we wanted to take it to the next level. By focusing on performance and versatility, and elevating across the board, Primo Plus was born. We are really excited for our community and a wider audience of music lovers to experience the Primo Plus.”
As with all Volumio’s product range, the new Primo Plus is hand-built in Florence. The name “Primo Plus” is an homage to its Italian heritage, “Primo” being the Italian word for “first” and marking the fact that the original Primo was the first product ever designed by Volumio. “Plus” is the Latin word for “more” because this new model offers more compared to the first-generation Primo.
Pricing and Availability:
The Volumio Primo Plus is priced at $1,399 / £1,049 / €1,199 and available to pre-order here.
Tech Specs:
DACs
- High-precision dual mono ESS ES9039Q2M chips.
- Playback: Up to PCM 768kHz/32-bit and DSD512.
- Jitter: Ultra-low phase noise (90 fs) and jitter.
- Power supply: High-quality LC filtering and dual linear stage with dedicated line regulators for analog and digital paths.
- Filters: 8.
- Design: Fully balanced with balanced stereo output.
- Volume control: Pre-amp mode to drive power amps directly.
- Output voltage selection: 8 levels for balanced output: 1Vrms – 6.30Vrms / 8 levels for unbalanced output: 0.5Vrms – 3.15Vrms.
Digital Inputs
- Network: PCM 384kHz/32-bit.
- USB-C: PCM 768kHz/32-bit and DSD512.
- USB-A: For Flash Drive and HDD/SDD.
- Coax: PCM 192kHz/24-bit.
- Optical: PCM 192kHz/24bit
- Bluetooth: 5.0.
- Display: 1.3-inch OLED.
- Controls: Twin rotary encoder knobs with push-button.
- Trigger out: 12V 3.5mm jack.
- Connectivity: LAN up to 1000M / Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.
- Video output: Volumio OS app mirroring in 4K/60fps.
- App: Volumio for iOS and Android.
- Multiroom: Full multiroom compatibility.
- Remote: Aluminum IR remote included.
Digital Audio
- Supported formats: DSD, WAV, FLAC, ALAC, AAC, Vorbis, MP3, and more.
- Supported services: Tidal/Tidal Connect, Qobuz/Qobuz Connect, Spotify/Spotify Connect, Roon Ready, Audirvāna, HighResAudio, TuneIn, AirPlay, DLNA/UPnP.
Inputs and Outputs
- Network: up to PCM 384kHz/32bit
- USB-C (device): up to PCM 768kHz/32-bit and DSD512.
- USB-A (host): for USB Flash Drive and HDD/SDD (via Network input).
- S/PDIF Coaxial input: up to PCM 192kHz/24-bit.
- S/PDIF Optical input: up to PCM 192kHz/24-bit.
- Bluetooth RX: 5.0 (via Network input).
Hardware
- Input power: 5V DC / 3A.
- Input power connector: Barrel jack 5.5/2.1mm (outer/inner diameter).
- Input power polarity: Positive.
- CPU: Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHz.
- USB-C: 1 USB Type-C connector (device).
- USB-A: 2 USB Type-A connectors (host).
- S/PDIF Coaxial input: RCA connector.
- S/PDIF Optical input: TOSLINK connector.
- Stereo Unbalanced output: RCA connectors.
- Stereo Balanced output: XLR connectors.
- LAN: 10/100/1000M
- Trigger-out: 3.5mm jack, positive on tip