Icons of A/V

VHS Cassette

Do you recall the VCR? I sure do, we still have one tucked away somewhere at home. It wasn’t that long ago that this was the standard. Now that DVD is king, my VCR tape collection tends to just sit around gathering dust.

The audio market is also undergoing a metamorphosis. Sales of CDs are in decline at the expense of downloadable music. The logic is simple, it is more convenient and purchasers don’t have to obtain an entire CD. Instead they can just select and pay for a single track.

Given that things are changing rapidly is there any sense investing in quality in the hope that it will last the distance.

The good news is that it all depends on your ability to decide what you really need. Once you have done this everything else falls into place.

I place strong emphasis on the audio component of any audio/visual system. The reason is simple; I prefer to listen to music as both the main event and in the background when I’m busy with something else. There is something so much more engaging about music. I can listen to a music CD many times over a few years. In doing so it invariably becomes intertwined with the things I was doing at that time in my life. Ten years later I can put the same CD on and all those memories come rushing back in again. We can have a dinner party and select something from our collection which we know is just right to set the mood. All said, music is still king of the hill in our lives. Do we watch TV and play movies... sure but it’s just not quite as versatile and meaningful to me.

With audio, the most important thing is to get reacquainted with music. Buy some music online, get some new CDs or vinyl and prepare to be surprised at how good recordings have become. The next step is to take a good look at your system and listening environment, see if you can improve on the quality of the sound.

Listening to music can be as distant or engaging as you want it to be. If you are happy with background music, then you can’t get too concerned about the placement of the components or the quality of your music or system. If on the other hand if you want something more from your audio system, you will need to pay particular attention to your listening position as a fundamental consideration.

You are not going to be able to fully appreciate stereo reproduction unless you are sitting in the "sweet-spot". When you are sitting in the correct position the difference is like comparing night to day.

Developing an appreciation of audio can be an engaging experience, and the journey of refining the experience by investing in icons of A/V can be very rewarding.

Radiance R200i Reviewed: Danish delight

R200i Stereo Integrated Amplifier

Our Danish distributor Soren Vittrup from AUDIOcompagniet arranged an excellent review, on reputable Danish hi fi website HIFI4ALL.DK, of the Radiance series R200i Integrated Amplifier.

If you can read Danish check out the R200i Integrated Amplifier review in it's entirety.

If anybody feels the need to translate this review into English, it would be greatly appreciated and we are extremely interested in reading what reviewer Mikkel Gige had to say.

Silhouette Series in Situ: pictures speak a thousand words

Silhouette Series

We have recently taken a series of photographs focusing on the Silhouette series.

Please feel free to browse through a selection of the images:

Image01 | Image02 | Image03 | Image04 | Image05 | Image06

More images of the Silhouette series can be viewed in the Perreaux image gallery.

European Hi Fi Show Report: Perreaux at VAD and Malmö

Interest in A/V has never been greater in Europe. Exhibiting at the recent VAD show in Eindhoven, The Netherlands evidenced this.

Our Benelux distributor E-Audio put together an excellent show. Feel free to browse images of the E-Audio stand at VAD.

The Silhouette series left many very surprised at just how good these products really are. Our sincere thanks to all the team at E-Audio Benelux for hosting a superb exhibition.

Then onwards to Sweden, I vow to spend more time there in future (especially over summer) as it is a really spectacular country. Flying from Stockholm to Malmo in the south with a setting sun, you can see dramatic evidence of Sweden’s stunning landscape, with thousands of small lakes clothed in pockets of forest. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before. Swedes are open, friendly and progressive... they are delightful to be around.

My thanks to our Swedish distributor Olle Zetterstrom for his hospitality and to ljudupplevelser. exhibiting Perreaux at the recent Malmö hi fi show. Olle writes:

"We had about 5000 people visiting during the shows two day duration. I played on the Perreaux Prisma series together with Amphion Xenon loudspeakers. We had REALLY good sound (which is not always the case when exhibiting at a hifi show, as you probably know). Both the Prisma and especially the Silhouette series attracted a lot of attention."

My thanks also for a superb night out in Copenhagen, Denmark together with our Danish distributor Soren Vittrup it was a real pleasure.

Recommended Listening: must hear albums

Cæcilie Norby - My Corner of the Sky (1996)

Cæcilie Norby - My Corner of the Sky

Following the success of her first release Cæcilie Norby on the Blue Note label, her second release on the label My Corner of the Sky include contributions from drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, bassist Lars Danielsson and the Brecker brothers on tenor sax and flugelhorn. As on her first album, Niels Lan Doky is co-producer and co-arranger.

Cæcilie Norby has scored a tremendous success with her numerous projects, and she has been through the entire rock circus without becoming capricious. Although she is a popular favourite at festivals, she is drawn to smaller, more intimate venues, to the standard repertoire of jazz and to the talent of jazz musicians for improvising and going on stage without having spent six months in training camp.

Cæcilie Norby's voice is lyrical and supple. She colours her vowels to taste. Improvisations and scats are done with elegance. Her phrasing can be both down-to-earth and romantic. She can radiate anything from the sweet and vulnerable to the crude and powerful. Some critics have compared Cæcilie Norby to Swedish Monica Zetterlund and to the American singers Nancy Wilson, Dinah Washington and Aretha Franklin.

Visit Cæcilie Norby's Website or buy the CD.

Randi Laubek - Almost Gracefully... (2000)

Randi Laubek - Almost Gracefully...

Uniquely soulful and honest, Randi Laubek first seduced the hearts and ears of the Danish listening public when her debut long-player Ducks & Drakes was awarded the Danish Grammy (now Danish Music Award) for "Best Album" and she was named "Best Female Artist" and "Best Songwriter".

Laubek has continued to build upon both her commercial and critical reputation. Her two follow-up albums Almost Gracefully and The Wedding Of All Things have both resided at the top of the Danish album charts and at the same time have garnered praise for their unique artistry and vision. She has toured extensively throughout Scandinavia and has contributed songs to the critically acclaimed soundtracks of the Danish films "I Lysets Hjerte" ("In The Light Of The Heart") and Motello" (w/ Tango Orkestret).

Most recently Laubek has been commissioned to write songs for the Copenhagen Theatre Production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," contribute her version of Bob Dylan’s "Lay Lady Lay" to a Danish Television production and also participate in Danish Radio’s "Coming Home" project where select Danish vocalists play concerts in their respective home towns and join together for a final group concert to be recorded with the Danish Radio Big Band.

Visit Randi Laubek's Website or buy the CD.