At Perreaux, we are very conscious of our responsibility to design products that fulfil our core philosophies and values. One of the fundamental cornerstones of this is that we strive to produce products that will "perfectly re-create the musical event by not adding or subtracting anything from the original recording". So how do we ensure that our products enable the user to enjoy a perfect representation of the original recording? Is there a way to measure this? A basic description and understanding of the "Perreaux sound" is provided below.

In the first instance it is very important to understand that any audio system comprises of multiple connected elements typically comprising of CD transport, DAC, preamplifier, amplifier, cabling, loudspeakers and room and can be likened to "links in a chain". The challenge for any manufacturer or end user is to ensure that each system link is as strong as possible, as the sound can only be as good as the weakest link. To give an example, several areas that are often overlooked are loudspeakers, room dimensions and room acoustics. This can often be a sensitive subject, as for most who enjoy music there are certain constraints which for the sake of their room, finances or relationship can act as strong motivators for compromise. In many instances speakers are often placed too close to a wall or at the wrong height, small speakers are used instead of larger ones for aesthetic compromise, rooms often lack adequate wall treatments etc. These areas are completely outside Perreaux area of influence but are all important aspects to consider when designing and building your system. If you are serious about listening quality, you can access detailed information on these subjects online.

At Perreaux, we focus on the aspects of the system which we have influence over. The amplifier can be considered to be at the centre of any audio system. An inferior or mismatched amplifier will place severe limitations on the quality of experience that you can expect to obtain. As a general rule when matching speaker ratings to amplifier wattage - ordinarily, the amplifier should have a continuous RMS output power rating the same as or higher than the speakers at the same impedance rating. For example 350Wrms, 8 ohm speakers driven by a 350Wrms at 8 ohm amplifier is not as ideal as 250Wrms, 8 ohm speakers driven by a 350Wrms at 8 ohm amplifier.

The perfect amplifier will be able to increase the amplitude of all input frequencies in a linear fashion, irrespective of load, to the level desired. An idealised frequency response for a perfect amplifier could be graphically represented by a straight line response from 0Hz - 60kHz, shown right.

At this point it is very important to note that many amplifiers should be capable of responding in a relatively linear manner over the mid range frequencies of 100Hz - 5KHz. For the sake of the discussion, we will not address the specific areas that enable amplifiers to be contrasted against one another, rather we will limit it to the characteristic sound of an amplifier assuming the other factors have been considered. The areas that we will not address but are also of relevance for purposes of contrast are: intermodulation distortion, total harmonic distortion, damping factor, dynamic headroom and clipping.

The audible frequency range is widely accepted as being approximately 20Hz - 20KHz and can be roughly divided into 3 distinct areas of interest. Low 20Hz - 150Hz, Mid 150Hz - 5KHz and High 5KHz - 20KHz.

Most amplifiers, including many high end amplifiers, will exhibit a frequency responce of 20Hz-20KHz +/- 1.0dB as indicated to the left. Please observe the attenuation that occurs over the lower and upper frequencies.

We are often asked if a particular model of Perreaux amplifier has a characteristic "sonic signature". Information on our characteristic signature can be derived from the actual frequency response curve taken from the Perreaux R200i 200W dual mono integrated amplifier shown right.

With refrence to the curve, the sonic signiture is as true to the original recording as we can engineer the product to be. In other words we design our amplifers to act like a "straight wire with gain" and therefore be as sonically unobtrusive as possible. Our sonic signature is therefore as "neutral" as we can engineer it to be.

Many listeners find that Perreaux amplifiers "lack" mid-range response in contrast with others. This is actually a misinterpretation, which can be seen by comparing the "typical frequency response curve" against the Perreaux "R200i frequency response curve"!!

The Perreaux R200i curve demonstrates that mid-range frequency response is equal with the typical frequency response curve. However, what causes mid-range misinterpretation is its enhanced low and high frequency response. The net result being that instead of the Perreaux amplifier lacking in mid-range, the listener is now hearing low and high range to a level never experienced previously, revealing a true response across the entire audio-band.

In summary, many listeners "reference sound" suffers from some degree of attenuation in the low and high frequencies. By contrast, the Perreaux "sound" appears boosted at the low and high end of the spectrum, thereby providing a false impression of a sagging mid-range response. A flat frequency response across the entire audio-band, is a fundamental cornerstone element, enabling Perreaux amplifiers to provide the "perfect re-creation of a musical event".