Experience the Sound of Perreaux

We Kiwis are a lot smarter than we give ourselves credit for.  I know, it is quite a statement, but I keep having jaw dropping moments when I look at the amount of talent we hide in all corners and nooks of the country. And it goes well beyond the number 8 wire ingenuity.

A great example is the Perreaux products. If you are a seasoned audiophile you will be familiar with the brand. If not, it’s about time you get to know them.

Perreaux is a New Zealand based designer and manufacturer of the highest quality audio equipment available on the world scene (no, we are not exaggerating!).

They were born in 1974, producing an integrated amplifier capable of a (then) whopping 22W per channel.  It didn’t take long to get some Ozzie attention and as time went on the company continued to innovate and focus on building superior-quality musical electronics.

The key to their success was that they recognised the major importance of totally reliable products. What’s more, one of the most important reasons for Perreaux’s market success was a long and established reputation for 100% reliability. Perreaux’s rugged construction and years of development and refinement of electronic circuitry generated many sales by word-of-mouth from professionals and hobbyists alike.

By the mid- ‘80’s, Perreaux products were exported to 17 countries.

These days, Perreaux continues to invest in intensive research & development, their mission is no less than ‘the perfect recreation of a musical event’. Ambitious to say the least.

Their products consistently feature sophisticated circuitry of the highest quality. Only hand-selected components are used and designs are future-proofed, meant to last a lifetime. Customer satisfaction is everything.

The company offers everything from integrated amplifiers, power amps, preamps, loudspeakers and cables, but have a long-standing reputation for their Class A pre-amplifiers and MOSFET power amplifiers with a reasonable price tag.

‘Mos-what’, I hear you say? MOSFET stands for ‘metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor’. The main advantage of a MOSFET over a regular transistor is that it requires very little current to turn on while delivering a much higher current to a load. The major advantage of this is that MOFET transistors draw less current over the power bandwidth as their temperature rises. This makes them thermally self-stabilising, whereas bi-polar transistors draw more current as their temperature rises, making protection circuits to prevent thermal runaway and eventual self-destruction mandatory.

The result is the highest performance from the internal amplifier circuitry.

As for a memory refresher of amplifier classes, have a look at our earlier blog here.

But back to Perreaux. Here’s what you need to know about the Perreaux stand-outs:

The Audiant VP3 has received a fair amount of positive attention in the last couple of years. The main reason for that is (apart from the quality of the product) the versatility of the device. Designed to be a preamplifier that you invest in once, it accommodates your changing tastes in cartridges and turntables. The incredible customisation options enable you to adapt the VP3 to your altered preferences. What’s more, it allows for multiple turntable set-up, giving the option to simultaneously connect the unit to two turntables with 2 different optimised cartridges and simply select between them.

You no longer have to make the choice between a high output MC (moving coil) cartridge and a low output or MC and MM (moving magnet). You just connect two turntables, each individually optimised. It couldn’t be more flexible.

I know… we need to talk more vinyl really soon.

The Eloquence 250i is Perreaux’s most powerful, most sophisticated integrated amplifier. In fact, they market it as the ‘World’s most powerful integrated amplifier’ and that should grab your attention.

Its performance and specifications are truly impressive, but hearing the 250i is when you will truly appreciate the quality engineering, design and craftsmanship. The high damping factor and high current custom power supplies ensure the 250i will drive any loudspeaker with absolute authority and control, even the difficult ones.

The optional internal 24-bit/192kHz DAC and MM/MC Phono Preamplifier modules ensure complete integration of digital source components such as network music servers, digital receivers and turntables into a high-performance system.

The Audiant 80i is a stereo integrated amplifier equipped with an asynchronous USB DAC. Delivering 80 watts into an 8 ohm load and 130 watts into 4, the 80i has more than enough delivery to drive almost any matching floor standing loudspeaker. In years to come, when you decide to invest in a new pair of speakers, we predict you will want to hold on to your Audiant 80i because of its high powered robust design. Just saying…

The entire electronic assembly of the Audiant 80i includes a toroidal transformer (read ‘superior quality’) as well as a second toroidal transformer for control purposes which ensures that the standby power consumption-unlike other products- is absolutely minimal. They have attention for detail at Perreaux.

And then there is the high-quality Prisma range.  The entire Prisma range -like most of their products- is Class A/AB hybrid with class A amplification (up to 10W) resulting in the pinnacle of sound and clarity desired by audiophiles across the globe.

The clever design combination of the class A/AB hybrid class with the MOSFET characteristics and their application in this circuitry, result in crossover distortion so minimal that it is virtually non-existent.

We told you they are a smart bunch at Perreaux…

Add to that true-balanced circuitry (more on balanced amplifiers here) and custom designed toroid power supply and you should be pretty impressed.

Intrigued? So were we. In our ongoing search for honest products at the highest quality available, we started talking to the people from Perreaux and we are more than proud to add them to the Rapallo range. We say you really want to come and check the Perreaux products out at our demo room. Give us a call, you know you want to….