Fait Accompli

Now that the Silhouette series is complete, it's a good time to look at what it can offer. From the inception of the series, our focus has always been on extracting every last grain of detail and to provide the highest level of performance available.

Let's begin with the heart of the Silhouette product offering:

Core Silhouette Products

SX25i 25W Stereo Integrated Amplifier

SX25i

A 25W integrated amplifier, featuring a single volume control knob, a pair of line level inputs and a pair of adjustable outputs (pre-outs). The unit has a simple role - deliver great sound with a minimum of fuss.

Visit the SX25i 25W Integrated Amplifier product page. SXP2 Passive Preamplifier & SX25 25W Stereo Power Amplifier

SXP2 & SX25

If you require greater connectivity and flexibility then we've provided for this with the SXP2 passive preamplifier and SX25 25W stereo power amplifier. This pre/power combination provides 3 line level inputs, 2 adjustable outputs (pre-outs) and 1 line level output for added flexibility over the SX25i.

Visit the SXP2 Passive Preamplifier and SX25 25W Stereo Power Amplifier product pages. SXP2 Passive Preamplifier & SX60m 60W Mono-Aural Power Amplifiers

SXP2 & SX60m

This combination provides top of the line pre/power sonic performance. The SX60m is a 60W mono-aural power amplifier and will provide a complete controlled performance for bookshelf loudspeakers and their smaller floor-standing equivalents.

Visit the SXP2 Passive Preamplifier and SX60m 60W Mono-Aural Power Amplifier product pages.

Peripheral Silhouette Products

SXV2 - a dedicated MM/MC phono stage incorporating adjustable gain, impedance, capacitance and RIAA equalisation. The SXV2 is a high-gain preamplifier that takes the output from your turntable and amplifies the signal to a level which is acceptable for a conventional preamplifier or integrated amplifier to work with. Finest quality components are utilised throughout and great care has been taken with circuit board layout, resulting in a phono preamplifier which is better to some of the finest available at any price.

Visit the SXV2 Phono Preamplifier product page.

SXD2 - a DAC module featuring USB connectivity along with a traditional SPDIF digital input. Computers are becoming increasingly popular for music playback and storage. Undoubtedly driven by the huge uptake of the iPod, improvements in recent years of audio formats and to a lesser degree the internet. With the cost of hard disk drives at an all-time low, currently as low as 0.37 NZD (0.30 USD/0.20 EUR) per gigabyte, computers are a cheap and convenient solution for storage of large music collections. Hard disk drives are now available with capacities of 1 terabyte (1000 gigabytes), this is over 1000 CDs stored uncompressed! Using the SXD2 enables you to extract the best performance from your computer based audio collection, bypassing the computers internal sound card and outputting digital audio via USB directly to the SXD2. This in turn is fed into the input of a preamplifier or integrated amplifier.

Visit the SXD2 USB DAC product page.

SXCD - the two-box SXCD is a sophisticated CD player, utilising a computer DVD drive and unique electronic circuitry it facilitates very-low jitter performance to deliver highest quality audio reproduction. Each box of the SXCD is the same size as the other products in the Silhouette range and is particularly appealing to those who are looking for a complete suite of matching audio components. To add another dimension to your music, try connecting the SXD2 DAC module via the digital SPDIF output of the SXCD.

Visit the SXCD Compact Disc Player product page.

SXH2 - a dedicated headphone amplifier capable of driving any headphone to your complete satisfaction.

Visit the SXH2 Headphone Amplifier product page.

SXL2 - a Class-A, unity-gain, line stage buffer designed to overcome the negative effects of inferior drive from CD players and other hi fi source components. The SXL2 also provides a method of migrating from single-ended to balanced topology.

Visit the SXL2 Line Stage Buffer product page.

Selecting components from the Silhouette series enables you create the optimal audio solution for your needs. The Silhouette series really is a Fait Accompli.

SM6 MkII & 350 Reviewed: muscles from New Zealand

High Fidelity Magazine

Our Danish distributor Soren Vittrup from AUDIOcompagniet arranged an excellent review, by reputable Danish hi fi magazine High Fidelity, of the Prisma series SM6 MkII Balanced Preamplifier and 350 Stereo Power Amplifier.

If you can read Danish check out the SM6 MkII Preamplifier & 350 Power Amplifier review (1.38MB) in it's entirety.

Hand-Made in Machine-Made Era: quality where it counts

Hand-Made

At Perreaux we take genuine pride in making high-end audio products using tried and trusted methods. Every product is lovingly assembled by hand using highly skilled staff.

Products that are assembled on large automated production lines tend to lack individuality and often sound inferior to the original hand-built article. So if a hand-built product using skilled craftsmen is usually better than their machine-built equivalent, is there any place for machine-made?

The answer lays in a hybrid approach, we take the best that we can offer using hand assembly techniques and seamlessly blend these together with selected machine assembled components.

Silence: Have you heard any lately?

si·lence [sahy-luh ns] (n.) - "absence of any sound or noise; stillness."

I don't watch huge amounts of TV, however the occasional program can catch my attention. I usually have the volume on low and then use the remote to mute the sound when one of the many long commercial breaks comes along. As if 5 minutes of continuous advertisements for every 10 minutes of viewing were not enough, the station also turns up the volume to really try and command fullest attention. I say mute… better still get rid of the TV altogether!

So how about the sound of silence and have you heard any lately? To me it's more about isolating man-made from natural sounds. Loud audio systems, poor-quality housing crammed in close proximity, noisy cars, industry, you name it… It's getting very hard to get some peace and quiet these days. Take time out occasionally to get away from it all. Take a walk in the forest or on the beach. The sounds of nature, such as the wind in the trees or waves crashing on an empty beach, can work wonders and leave you feeling refreshed.

It's a DNA World: Richard Dimbleby Lecture 2007

DNA

A few months ago the BBC invited Dr J Craig Venter to speak on the role of DNA now and into the future. I was impressed by his vision for using genetic engineering to find solutions to many of mankind's most pressing issues.

Venter states:

"This area of research will enable us to create new fuels to replace oil and coal."

If you want to take a glimpse into the exciting world of DNA… Please take time to read this important lecture: A DNA-Driven World.

Favourite songs: a few all time greats

There are songs that really take me back to another place and time. Here are a few of my all time favourites:

  • The Motels - "Only The Lonely" (1982)
  • Blerta - "Dance All Around The World" (1972)
  • The Moody Blues - "Nights In White Satin" (1967)
  • Burt Bacharach - "A House Is Not A Home" (1964)
  • Craig Armstrong - "This Love" (1998)