UNISON RESEARCH UNICO PRIMO

Bought this on an impulse after Zero Fidelity's glowing endorsement. I feed the Unico through my Denafrips Ares II DAC, and it's a match made in heaven. Before getting to the sound, let me just say the Italian design aesthetic is alive in this unit. It feels like a million bucks just turning the knob and touching the aluminum surface finish. The build is robust, and the unit is heavy, substantial. The sound really is 3 dimensional. Soundstage is deep, layered, and nuanced. Vocals are the star of this show, and singers just sound so smooth and real. The treble with the stock tube, while slightly boosted, are very refined and not at all fatiguing. It helps reveal detail without being too in your face. The noise floor is somewhat high as I can hear it when my ears are up to the speakers, but is otherwise a non issue. I did not get the phono stage. I got this unit at the same time as a Rotel 1572, and they are similar in price point and general performance. Rotel has stronger attack on drums, while vocals and strings are more refined on the Unico. Rotel has more inputs while the Unico is more of an analog purist's solution. I do use the Unico's subwoofer out, and it woks beautifully. Unico's design is incredible compared to the Rotel's somewhat utilitarian look. I recommend this whole-heartedly if you don't mind the pure analog approach. It is such a joy to have this unit in my life.

Both the beautiful Unico Primo and the personable customer service I got from Audio Legacy were a clear cut above the norm. I jumped back into hi-fi a few years ago after being pretty much out of it during the digital revolution (iTunes, streaming, etc). In 2019, I upgraded from an Onkyo receiver to Pro-Ject preamp and amp separates (solid state). It was a nice boost in clarity, but you had to hear the new vs the old to appreciate the difference. I spent this past summer researching an upgrade (youtubers, forums, reviews)—I wanted to FEEL a difference in soundstage, controlled power, etc, while at the same time simplifying my setup.
Decided with some hesitation on the Unico over ballpark-priced integrateds Musical Fidelity m5si, Audio by Van Alstine Set 120, and Rogue Sphinx 3. I liked the idea of a tubey front end, class A power, and those elegant looks. Emailed Jim Donnelly about adding a phono stage and whether it was any good. His prompt and honest response was an instant connect: “There is only 1 factory-supplied internal phono option and we install that when a customer orders it. I have not personally done a side-by-side comparison of the performance of the Unison phono option with other brands of external phono preamps and can’t provide an opinion.” No BS. I added the phono stage to Jim’s last unit in stock, which was shipped the following day. The difference? After a full day of warmup and through my old bookshelf NHT Absolute Zeros, I had my wife and mother-in-law stand about 6 feet in front of the speakers as I turned up the Primo to 2.5(?) and hit play on AC/DC’s Highway to Hell. They both smiled and nodded and tapped their toe. They did not shout, “Turn it down!” Sounded as if we were standing in front of Angus’ amp: clean, clear rock and roll in all its dirtiness! I’m thrilled with the purchase and experience; highly recommended.