PRIMARE ALLT-I-ETT: When One Box Is Genuinely Enough > Audiograde Review

Some Things You Can't Rationalise

There are audio experiences that stop you mid-thought. Moments when you stop analysing and simply start listening. When the music stops working at sounding good and just — sounds.
The Primare Allt-i-Ett is that kind of system.
We say this with a certain degree of self-awareness. At INTEK Hi-Fi, we are firmly rooted in the world of separate hi-fi components — preamplifiers, monobloc amplifiers, dedicated DACs, turntables. We believe in the chain. In control over every link. And towards systems that compress all of this into a single box, we carry — let's be honest — a measure of scepticism.
But Primare is Primare. A Swedish brand that has never rushed. That has always preferred to do the right thing over the fast thing. And the Allt-i-Ett — meaning "all-in-one" in Norwegian and Swedish — is the product of that philosophy.

Ten Drivers, One Purpose

Before we come to the sound — which is, of course, the centrepiece of everything that follows — it's worth understanding what lives behind the elegant fascia of an enclosure measuring 690 × 303 × 150 millimetres.
Inside are ten drivers: six 100mm bass units — two front-firing, two rear-firing and two downward-firing — a pair of 100mm midrange drivers, and a pair of 19mm silk dome tweeters, each housed behind its own precision-engineered waveguide. All are custom-built, using a proprietary polymer material selected for its optimal balance of rigidity and low mass.
The 300-watt Class D amplifier drives them in a four-channel configuration: two channels handle the left and right midrange and treble sections, while two further channels power the left and right bass arrays. Each bass pair shares a single, carefully tuned chamber for its channel, and each midrange driver occupies its own isolated enclosure with non-parallel walls — a detail that effectively suppresses internal reflections and resonances that would otherwise colour the sound.

DSP That Doesn't Lie

Here is the pivotal point that separates good one-box systems from truly great ones: digital signal processing. DSP in an integrated system with built-in drivers is either the solution or the source of the problem.
Primare developed the Allt-i-Ett's DSP tuning with the aid of an advanced Klippel NFS 3D sound analysis system — a tool that measures driver response in three dimensions and enables calibration that cannot be achieved on paper alone. The result is implemented as a set of room placement configurations: the system behaves differently against a wall, in a corner or freestanding, and the Allt-i-Ett knows this and adjusts accordingly.
Alongside this sits BACCH 3D Spatial Audio, which adds a dimension of depth and width to the stereo image that surpasses anything we would normally expect from a single-cabinet system. Combined with an eleven-band parametric equaliser and automatic room correction — set once and then simply forgotten — the Allt-i-Ett stands among the rare systems that take DSP seriously as an acoustic tool, rather than as a feature to list on a specification sheet.

The Sound: What Actually Matters

Everything described above is context. The truth about any audio component reveals itself only when the specification sheet is closed and the music begins.

Music That Breathes

When the Allt-i-Ett plays material with an intimate vocal line and restrained instrumentation — the kind of music that tells you within the first few seconds whether a system understands or not — it places you inside the recording rather than in front of it. Not in the superficial sense of sounding "spacious." In the more precise sense of establishing the right relationship between listener and music. The voice is close. The bass line sits below you rather than in front of you. The upper frequencies carry air — that silence between the transients that you only hear when a system has nothing to hide.
This is what so often disappoints in integrated systems: the way bass competes with the midrange, the way treble cuts rather than completes. The Allt-i-Ett makes none of these mistakes. All three frequency registers coexist and frame the music such that the whole makes sense.

Dynamics That Catch You Off Guard

Dynamic range — the span between the quietest and loudest moment in a recording — is frequently the first casualty in one-box systems. Limited cabinet space, shared amplification channels and conservatively tuned DSP all conspire to compress this range in the name of safety.
The Allt-i-Ett does not accept that compromise. When music moves from a quiet opening passage to a fully loaded climax, the system follows without hesitation. The bass is neither exaggerated nor flattened. It is precise. When a bass line hits, you feel it — not merely hear it.
This capacity to carry the physical and emotional weight of a musical performance is what separates the Primare from most of what else exists in this category.

Spatial Imaging: A Genuine Surprise

BACCH spatial audio is not a parlour trick for impressing guests. In a competently executed implementation, it manifests as an entirely natural sense of three-dimensional space — without the artificial, over-processed quality that afflicts poorly implemented surround or spatial processing.
When the Allt-i-Ett plays a FLAC recording via Qobuz Connect or Tidal Connect at full Hi-Res resolution, the spatial information it retrieves is more faithful than we expected. Instruments occupy their own positions in the soundstage. The stereo image is stable and convincing. For a system with no separate loudspeakers, this is a genuine achievement.

Connectivity and Streaming: Where Prisma Makes the Difference

Prisma is Primare's proprietary streaming and networked audio architecture — and in a world where many "smart" audio systems are undermined by a poor application experience, unreliable wireless connectivity or laggy interfaces, Prisma is the exception that earns its reputation.
The Allt-i-Ett supports AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, DAB+ and FM radio, and Bluetooth in high-definition codecs including AptX. For digital inputs: HDMI with eARC (up to 24-bit/48kHz), two optical and one coaxial input (up to 32-bit/192kHz) and a USB-A socket supporting files up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512. For those drawn to the warmth of vinyl, there is also a stereo RCA analogue input configurable for moving-magnet cartridges.
To an experienced ear, this breadth of connectivity is unusual — it is not common for digital sources of this quality to coexist with a properly implemented phono input, with each source sounding as it should.

Design: Nordic Restraint Without Compromise

Primare does not make products that demand attention. The Allt-i-Ett is consistent with that tradition — its dimensions and form integrate naturally into a living room, yet closer inspection reveals materials and build quality that exceed what the price bracket typically provides.
The "blackwood" finish is Primare's signature: a wood texture restrained enough not to impose itself, yet present enough to give the cabinet warmth. The front speaker grille sits slightly proud of the main chassis — a detail that, alongside the overall proportions, reflects an attention to design that extends beyond aesthetics into acoustic function.
At 16 kilograms, the Allt-i-Ett carries a physical presence that communicates the absence of compromise within.

Who Is the Primare Allt-i-Ett For?

The direct answer: for anyone who wants genuine hi-fi sound in a single device — without managing separate components, without matching amplifiers to speakers, without compromising on the quality of playback.
It is for the music lover who has a well-considered living room and does not want it to become an equipment showcase. For the household where not everyone shares the same enthusiasm for the number of black boxes on a shelf. For anyone who wants to install a system and then simply — listen.
It is also for the experienced audiophile who needs a solution for a secondary room, a study or a bedroom, where a full separate chain is impractical but where the quality of sound remains non-negotiable.
The Allt-i-Ett serves all of these situations. And in each of them, it sounds better than you will expect.

Primare Has Done the Right Thing Again

Every audio system has a character. Some are precise to the point of coldness. Some are warm to the point of imprecision. The Primare Allt-i-Ett is a rare combination: accurate, dynamic and — above all — musical. It is a system that does not show its effort, which is the most valuable compliment any audio component can receive.
In extended listening, it drew in not only those who understood why it sounded as it did, but everyone else in the room who simply heard it.
That is what we look for. And that is what the Primare Allt-i-Ett delivers.

INTEK Hi-Fi: Primare in Slovenia

At INTEK Hi-Fi, we are the authorised distributor for Primare in Slovenia. The Allt-i-Ett is available to see and hear in person — because that is the only way to truly understand what we are talking about.
Call us or visit. The music is waiting.

INTEK Hi-Fi | Ljubljana | Slovenia
High-End Audio, Consultation and Distribution

Primare Allt-i-Ett
Audiograde