A chat with the new man behind Perreaux
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
The team @ Rapallo spent some time with a chat with the new man behind Perreaux
Just a few months ago, Perreaux announced that they had changed ownership. After fronting Perreaux for 20 years Martin handed the company over to Edwin Nieman.
At Rapallo, we are proud supporters of the audiophile high-end company. Not only because they are a New Zealand based company, but also because they design and manufacture some of the highest quality audio equipment available on the world scene (no, we are not exaggerating!).
Born in 1974, Perreaux quickly built a reputation for extremely reliable and superior quality amplifiers with refined and sophisticated circuitry. For Perreaux ‘The perfect recreation of a musical event is the ultimate goal’. Pretty ambitious in our book.
Only hand-selected components are used and designs are future-proofed, meant to last a lifetime. Customer satisfaction is everything.
In the past the company has offered everything from integrated amplifiers, power amps, preamps and also ventured into loudspeakers and cables. But it’s their Class A pre-amplifiers and MOSFET power amplifiers they are known for.
So when we posted a review for the Perreaux 255i on Facebook a couple of weeks ago, there was a fair bit of response from long-term loyal Perreaux customers. There was a clear curiosity about what the new ownership would mean for Perreaux.
While we at Rapallo had met Edwin in person shortly after the take-over, we thought it was time we had a chat with the new man behind Perreaux and get him to introduce himself to our Rapallo customer base. The fact that he agreed in making the time for this, is a testimony to the man’s dedication to the brand and his customers. I mean, he is a very, very busy man.
Considering it’s his first time addressing the world as the ‘Perreaux man’, it seemed like a good idea to keep his words exactly as they reached us.
So, introducing ‘Edwin from Perreaux’, here’s what he has to say:
Edwin, I know you are an electronics engineer and that you are heading a team of 20 engineers at Kamahi electronics. Do you have a background in/passion for audio?
I have a Bsc in telecommunication, with a specialty in analogue electronics. I have been interested in audio from when I was 14 or so. Audio started me off in electronics. I built my own amplifiers and speakers (which I still have, they travelled around the world with me when I emigrated), my first job was at D&R, a Dutch company designing and selling mixing desks for studios. In those days it was all analogue and those 2-3 meter wide desks were massive systems. I also love music. Audio is mainly about getting the emotion in music across ‘properly’. There is simply a lot more to be enjoyed in music through a good system.
What attracted you to Perreaux?
Perreaux is one of the longest standing audio brands in the world, from a small country, but playing a part in the big world. To me the possibility of owning Perreaux felt like a boy’s dream. I always try to make my dreams happen. Of course there has to be a proper business opportunity in it as well otherwise the dream will be very short lived. And it is a cliché but I am/was ready for a new challenge, next to Kamahi. So I grabbed the opportunity when it came. I’m proud to be the next caretaker.
What is your vision for Perreaux and the Perreaux products? Where do you plan on taking the brand?
Perreaux has a ringing name and a long history in New Zealand and overseas. But due to various factors the brand-awareness has declined over the past 10-15 years, that needs to change.
I am keen to build up Perreaux again into the proud NZ brand it was in the 70’s and 80’. Everybody knew Perreaux. In my first three months, I have been learning about the business, re-organizing and building stock, the boring stuff 🙂.
My long term goal is to return Perreaux as a significant player to the world stage of high end audio. At home in NZ, Perreaux needs to be a well know name again with the general public, not just the audio folks. We will do this by significantly ramping up development efforts, introducing 3 new products per year, introducing Perreaux in new markets and opening up Asia. All these processes have already been started but you’ll understand this will take a bit of time.
In the background we are also developing a story for Perreaux, identifying, creating and building on unique selling points. This story is critical to get right and will (surprise, surprise) also take time, like ripening of wine and cheese.
I know Perreaux has a reputation for 100% reliable quality audio products as well as for its MOSFET amplifiers. Can you explain (in simple terms) what is so special about the design of Perreaux amplifiers? As a result how does it make the Perreaux products a stand-out compared to its competitors?
The core is the audio and build quality. Perreaux amplifiers are built like a tank and we only use the highest quality parts. We have a unique core amplifier design.
What is so attractive about a MOSFET transistor? Is it still current?
Yes, MOSFETS are current. ‘Still’ is probably the wrong word, a bit like transistors are current and valves are current.
A lot of preference in high end audio has to do with style and taste. Some people like vinyl, others only like lossless formats like FLAC. Some people like clean amplifiers, others like warm sounding ones, others again like especial musical ones. Some like strong sharp ‘attacks’, others get tired from that kind of sound and want it more rounded.
So there is no single best amplifier (or speaker), like there is no single best car or single best wine. There is a place for many brands with many styles.With this preference thing and steered by marketing and the inherent urge in people to want to have new ‘stuff’, comes fashion. In audio amplifiers, like in every area, there is fashion. You buy what you like and you believe your ears.
Perreaux was, in the 70’s, one of the very first adopters of MOSFETs in audio amplifiers. If you do new stuff, it sells. MOSFETs are now not new anymore, but the quality remains.
A leading reviewer from England gave our 255i amplifier an 85% score for ‘overall sound quality’. That is about as high as it gets within the price segment that we work in. So yes, MOSFETs are current, as current as transistors, as current as valves.
To give you some numbers: at the world’s largest electronic part supplier (Digikey) you can buy:
47,000 different MOSFETs, of which 36,000 are for collector currents higher than 4A
21,000 different transistors, of which 3,600 are for collector currents higher than 4A
(and 0 valves)
The 4A is just an arbitrary limit but these numbers illustrate very well that MOSFETs, compared to transistors
- Have a larger range
- Are better suited to high currents
The ‘problem’ with MOSFETs is that the good ones are expensive. This does not stop Perreaux of course, but it is why you’d rarely see MOSFETs in cheaper amplifiers. You also need to master the art of controlling them, they are more difficult to drive than simple transistors. Apart from this there are complicated technical reasons why MOSFETs are so good for audio amplifiers but this will be the topic of a separate more technical article.
So yes, Perreaux will firmly stick to MOSFETs.
Perreaux has ‘Audiant’, ‘Eloquence’ and ‘Prisma’ products. How are they different?
These are three different ranges geared towards 3 different types of clients and budgets. They all do share the same underlying build quality and philosophy, some things just have to be right to have good sounding audio equipment.
The Audiant series is the more cost-effective range with a wide range of options, the Eloquence is the powerful and fully integrated series (all functionality in one box) and the Prisma series is the high end very powerful classical fully analog hand built top end.
Which Perreaux products are stand-outs for you and why?
That is a difficult question to answer because for each product in our range there is a place. If I had to choose one product, it is the 255i, which is also our best-selling unit. The design is great and recognizable, not so easy in today’s world. It is a compact unit and very, very powerful whilst maintaining full musicality. One influential reviewer described the sound as sovereign and lyrical. I like that.
And of course we have the award winning VP3 phono pre-amplifier.
Anything else you would like to add?
Yes, heaps, but we will stage it a bit 🙂
We have the Perreaux Prisma 750 monoblocks, the Perreaux Prisma SM6 mkII pre-amplifier and the Perreaux Audiant 80i integrated amplifier on demo at Rapallo.
And with that we leave you.
