Perreaux E160i Integrated Amplifier
and ECD2 CD Player
I would never complain about my job (it sure beats work
and, until there's better daytime TV, I might as well keep busy from 9 to 5), but many a
time I've found myself crawling behind my equipment racks trying to trace the source of a
hum in a multibox separates-based system and wondering why I don't chuck it all for a
simple system that works.
They don't get much simpler than a CD player and an
integrated amp, but many audiophiles scorn the lowly integrated as a seriously compromised
nod to economy and convenience. That argument's not without merit -- in fact, it's right
on the money where many mass-market built-to-a-price integrated amplifiers and receivers
are concerned. But like all generalizations, it ain't necessarily so.
In recent years, an increasing number of specialty-audio
companies have offered what can only be called "super-integrateds;" integrated
amplifiers built to a higher standard -- components that stress the benefits of
integration while eschewing compromise. They probably won't succeed in redefining the
integrated -- there are just too many cheap'n'cheerful models out there for that -- but
they do put the lie to the oft-repeated mantra, "separates are always better."
I've spent many glorious hours with samples of the new
super-integrateds. As a reviewer, they certainly make my life easier. I don't have to
obsess over cable compatibility, spend time routing AC cords and interconnects, or contort
myself making connections. Mostly, all I have to do is listen to music -- usually a great
deal of it.
So when Audio Advisor's Wayne Schuurman mentioned that AA
was now importing Perreaux, all he had to do was mention the company's E-Series E160i
integrated and ECD2 CD player to set my heart a'thumpin'. I was acquainted with Perreaux
quality from my years on the sales floor and when Wayne explained that the "E"
in E-Series stood for "entry," I wheedled some review samples out of him. Like I
said, I'd never complain about my job!
I will not reason and compare, my job is to create
New Zealand-based Perreaux was founded by Peter Perreaux in
1974. In 1979 the company released the first audio product available in the Western world
that employed power MOSFETs.
Over the ensuing years, the company earned a reputation for
building handsome, rugged, well-constructed, innovatively engineered audio products and
expanded its marketing effort to encompass the US.
Despite the generally positive response of dealers and
consumers alike, Perreaux never really established a strong presence in the US. This was
primarily because the company never found the right distributor for its products -- it
went through a disastrous series of failed distribution efforts that actually left the
parent company vulnerable to an outside takeover, the first in a series of changes in
ownership. In 1995, the company was repurchased by Alec Ishey (who had first purchased it
from Peter Perreaux in 1987) and Duncan Perreaux. They set the company on a rigorous path
of intense R&D, which has totally revitalized the line and is on its way to
re-establishing the brand as an international contender in specialty audio.
I recently spoke with Martin van Rooyen, Perreaux's
managing director. Marty's a musically passionate EE who obviously takes enormous pride in
Perreaux's products. We ran up quite an overseas phone bill as he enthusiastically
described Perreaux's components as hand-built luxury items with a serious purpose: making
reproduced music enjoyable. I spent some time trying to remember where I must have met the
man before, but finally the light bulb over my head lit up. I'd never met Marty, but I
certainly knew him -- he's one of us, an audiophile. Perreaux's not just a
job for him -- it's his mission.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny
matters compared to what lies within us
That realization explains so much. Take the E-Series
cosmetics, for instance. The components don't have faceplates in the conventional sense.
Their front panels are billowy arcs with a flat notch cut into their center for the oval
display windows and controls, such as they are. Carved into the arced left side of each
face is the word Perreaux. This overall effect resembles nothing so much as an automobile
bumper -- especially when you take into account the shiny chrome coating my review samples
sported. The chrome finish costs $100 more than the standard black, but it turns the ECD2
and the E160i into genuine audio jewelry -- no, it doesn't affect the sound, but it looks
sharp as the dickens.
Van Rooyens' zeal also accounts for the way the components
were packed. Each chrome-plated faceplate was carefully wrapped with black tissue and then
the whole unit was cloaked in a piece of black cloth, suspended in foam cradles, boxed in
an inner carton and doubled boxed for shipment. Opening each piece was like unpacking the
family's heirloom silver.
Both units were remarkably hefty. The ECD2 is 17"W by
11"D by 3.5"H and weighs 15 pounds. The E160i is 17"W by 12.75"D by
3.5"H and weighs 24 pounds. One other feature they share in common is their seeming
lack of controls, other than a prominent power/standby button. Close inspection, however,
reveals tiny switches, no wider in diameter than a grain of Arborio rice, standing proud
in the oval display windows. On the ECD2 there are six of them: repeat, open/close, play,
stop, previous track and next track. The E160i sports four: volume up, volume down,
previous source, and next source. Both units come with the E-Series universal remote, a
small flat-membrane unit with color-coded multi-function controls. Fortunately, the remote
comes with its own manual, as I did not find all of its functions intuitive. However, its
most-commonly used functions are well labeled and it fits comfortably in the hand -- just
make sure you don't throw that manual away.
The $1495 ECD2 employs a bitstream chipset and
well-respected dual 20-bit Burr-Brown PCM63P DAC with 8x oversampling and what Perreaux
describes as "high-speed processing equivalent to 96kHz." Van Rooyen told me
that, after extensive listening tests, Perreaux was convinced that the dual 20-bit
converter sounds better than most of the 24-bit monolithic systems on sale today. Van
Rooyen also pointed out that, while using a single 24/96 DAC would make the ECD2's specs
virtually identical, it sounds better employing the dual 20-bit Burr-Browns.
The ECD2 also utilizes Pacific Microsonics' HDCD digital
filter, which gives ordinary CDs a luscious-sounding top end, in addition to decoding
HDCD-encoded discs. The player also sports a pair of gold-plated rugged RCA outputs for
its analog signal and also boasts a S/PDIF digital RCA output. Van Rooyen was rightly
proud of the quality of the parts used in the ECD2, which include high-quality boards,
Roderstein resistors, and Black Gate capacitors. The laser assembly is a three-beam unit.
The $1495 E160i is a brute by integrated standards. Its
billowy faceplate conceals its side-mounted heatsinks from full-frontal view, and Perreaux
advises that these get hot, although my word for it would have been rather warm.
Construction quality is, once again, obsessive. The unit's
circuits are laid out on high-quality PCBs with heavy copper tracks and the MOSFET-driven
power amp utilizes a multi-tap toroidal power supply with 20kuF of capacitive filtration.
Van Rooyen claims the unit outputs as much as 10W in class-A before becoming
"technically class-AB, but with a major difference. The combination of MOSFET
characteristics and their application in this circuitry result in crossover distortion so
minimal that it is virtually non-existent."
The E160i's volume control is unusual in its price range in
that it's not a motorized potentiometer, but rather a digitally-controlled, analog
resistive ladder type -- expensive, but totally transparent.
In contrast to the E160i's minimalist faceplate, its rear
panel is bristling with high-quality gold-plated RCA inputs and outputs and a pair of
unusual switches, both extremely useful. The first is a ground lift, which allows the
consumer to float the unit's ground -- this can offer huge reductions in hum and
background noise.
The other switch separates the preamp and power amp
functions of the integrated amplifier, providing a "pass through" circuit for
equalizers or other external processors, as well as offering the option of using either
one of the unit's functions without having to employ the other.
Nothing is good or bad but by comparison
Given all the care and apparent quality control employed in
the Perreaux line, I was surprised to note that the ECD2's and E160i's displays didn't
match. The amp's display was green, while the CD player's tended toward the blue end of
the green spectrum. Am I being picky? Obviously. Would I object to this if I'd bought the
two to work together? Probably not -- I'm not the most visually obsessive guy on the block
-- but some consumers might, so I thought I'd mention it. Perreaux has now changed the
spectral filters used in the displays, so they match in the latest batch made, but
undoubtedly there are still remaining units in the distribution pipeline with displays of
slightly different (not matching) colors.
And, in the great scheme of things, that's about as
substantial as my complaints get. The two components may or may not be your cup of tea,
but it's hard to argue that they aren't really, really good.
From the moment I installed the two in my system, it was
obvious that my time with them was not going to represent a great hardship. This in itself
is worth commenting upon. Since I don't like to change everything in the system at the
same time, I continued to use the Dynaudio Evidence Temptations, which have been my
reference speakers of late. You might think that's not fair, or even reasonable, since the
Temptations are: 1) huge and 2) remarkably transparent to the quality of the other
electronics connected to them -- "wuthwesswy weveawing" as Elmer Fudd might say.
And while they'll tell you everything about what's going on upstream of them, they aren't
the most sensitive speakers I have on hand; they're a bit of a bear to drive.
But don't shed any tears for the poor picked-upon E160i:
Not only did it drive the Temptations with panache, it gave the sound the sort of low-end
slam and authority I had previously achieved only from high-powered separates like the
Krell FPB300c. Now that's impressive.
Nor was the bass the only thing the sound had going for it.
As I listened to CD after CD, it dawned on me that I was about as relaxed as I usually
feel at concerts. Sometimes, especially when listening to less-than-world-class CD
players, I find myself unconsciously tensing my shoulders and neck. It's not that
listening to digital is agony -- I'm not Michael Fremer, after all -- but sometimes
it can sure seem like work. Listening to live music is never work.
And neither was listening to the ECD2/E160i combination.
Massed and plucked strings had an ease and relaxed quality that belied the amount of
detail the combination delivered. "Its gotta be that Pacific Microsonics
filter," I mused. That's when it hit me: must hear HDCD, I chortled. I went
looking for Keith Johnson's spectacular Copland 100th anniversary commemorative (Copland
by the Minnesota Orchestra with Eiji Oue [Reference Recordings RR-93CD]).
Oh my gosharoonie!
What a recording. What performances. I tend to forget just
how impressive HDCD can be when it's implemented properly, but when the recording,
performance, and equipment are all on the mark OH MAMA! Did I mention the bass
before? The bass on Fanfare for the Common Man (and that piece's recapitulation in
the Third Symphony) was scary, Not just for its power and depth, but for the way the
system and recording recreated Symphony Hall's acoustics, down to the last moving molecule
of air.
And the playing was spectacular -- muscular and propulsive,
with thrilling solo after solo, not to mention the glorious ensemble sound. It was the
sound of an orchestra in love with its leader, willing to follow him anywhere. No wonder
Bernstein bequeathed Oue the baton he used in the last concert he conducted -- that was
always Lenny's shtick and in this case, literally, as well as figuratively.
Now this obviously begs the question: just how important is
HDCD? I'm on the fence, myself. When done right, as it certainly is in the ECD2, it can
knock your socks off decoding HDCD discs. And the Pacific Microsonics filter ain't too
shabby with ordinary CDs either -- it tames digital nasties and high frequencies have air
and a sense of spaciousness that's altogether seductive.
And there are a lot of HDCD recordings out there -- more
than you might realize. A lot of engineers use a Pacific Microsonics recorder for
everything they do, but not every artist opts to pay the licensing to put the HDCD logo on
their CDs, so, if you live with an HDCD player, you'll notice the little indicator light
going on as your player processes a lot of recordings not identified by the logo.
But I fear HDCD reached momentum too late -- the march was
already on toward higher-rez digital formats than CD. Nor has it been my experience that
HDCD is the one true path -- talented designers such as Meridian's Bob Stuart, to name but
one, have created non-HDCD players that I rank as highly as any that incorporate the
technology.
What I'm not ambiguous about, however, is that HDCD
represents a great value-added feature. In other words, if the units you're considering
all perform more or less equally and cost more or less the same, HDCD might just be the
element that influences your final decision. After all, why not?
To compare is not to prove
It seemed obvious to compare the ECD2 to my Musical
Fidelity A3CD, since it’s the affordable player to beat, in my opinion. Both units
are well built and both are hard to fault, although they are quite different from one
another. The A3CD has a slightly livelier presentation. Playing Buddy and Julie Miller [Hightone
HCD 8135 CD], it tended to accentuate the snap and drive of the music, while the ECD2 had
a more relaxed, not precisely sluggish, sound. The A3CD also emphasized the studio
compression and overall flattening of dynamics that made the record difficult to enjoy.
The ECD2 certainly allowed me to hear the compression, but
I enjoyed the music more. Is this a feature or a bug? I find it hard to fault anything
that better enables me to enjoy good music, but you need to check this aspect of the
player out for yourself -- one man's meat is another man's loss of detail. I'm not sure;
I've heard the disc on a lot of players and most of them let me hear what I like about the
Millers without rubbing the disc's recording quality too severely in my face. The A3CD
simply wasn't one of them.
However, with well-recorded material, such as the Dave
Holland Quintet's Not For Nothin' [ECM 1758], it was difficult to choose between
the two. Holland's bass had slightly greater slam and body with the Perreaux, but Chris
Potter's saxophones had more brassy bite through the Musical Fidelity. And, depending upon
your point of view, either the ECD2 had a slightly more relaxed rhythmic presentation or
the A3CD added a bit more zip to the performance.
Ultimately, I felt that one could make a strong case for
either player based upon one's personal musical values. The Musical Fidelity emphasized
liveliness and clarity -- sometimes, as in Buddy & Julie Miller -- at the risk
of making marginal CDs less than enjoyable. On the other hand, as amiable as the Perreaux
was, and as seductive as its top-end performance was, sometimes it seemed to cushion hard
musical truths. Neither player seemed a clear winner and neither seemed to stray too far
from what was actually on the discs -- but then you've got to factor in the ECD2's HDCD
performance.
As it so happens, I still had the Arcam DiVA A85 in the
house, which costs about the same as the E160i. Of course, at only 85Wpc, it doesn't match
the Perreaux's output capabilities. The Arcam offers a slight functioning edge over the
Perreaux, thanks to its menu-driven control options. It permits you to adjust each input's
gain separately and even allows for three different volume-control response patterns.
Further, it has intelligently designed tone controls, which can be assigned to the whole
unit or used on a per-input basis.
I don't know whether most people will ever avail
themselves of any or all of that flexibility, though. VCRs are menu-driven and flexible,
too -- and the vast majority of them still blink "12:00" because most consumers
find programming them too big a hassle. But the Arcam does offer those functions if you
value them.
In my Dynaudio Evidence Temptation torture test, both
products acquitted themselves surprisingly well, although the Perreaux continued to amaze
me with its low-end heft and impact. The Arcam simply didn't seem to match its bass output
or depth. The Dave Holland Quintet was definitely a bassist's ensemble the way the E160i
presented it. On the other hand, the Arcam seemed to paint a more detailed soundstage --
Steve Nelson's vibes had a shimmeringly believable presence and the instrument's overtones
had the buzzing, zinging clarity of the real thing. Not that the Perreaux seemed to blunt
the sound, it was wonderfully adept at capturing the transient of each struck note -- but
the complexity of the overtones, not to mention their duration, was better served by the
Arcam.
Part of this was the way the two amplifiers seemed to have
different perspectives on the musical event. The Arcam was up close and up front, seeming
to emphasize the individual lines and voices of the music. The Perreaux didn't have that
same microscopic detail, but it better captured the way individual voices blend together
in space without surrendering their individuality. Thus, I felt more excitement, perhaps,
in the individual virtuosity involved in Not For Nothin' on the A85, but felt the
Perreaux did a better job of portraying the music of a band playing together.
Paradoxically though, despite the Arcam's up-close sound,
the Perreaux made the ensemble seem big as life, while the Arcam for all its detail and
clarity seemed to create a physically smaller image -- if such a nonsensical concept
conveys any information.
Did I prefer one to the other? I think it's more a matter
of horses for courses. The Perreaux had wonderful slam and impact, and if those qualities
matter to you, it's an obvious choice. I also felt it was more comfortable driving the big
Temptations and would be a natural choice where sheer power made the difference. There's a
lot of grunt in that integrated -- and it has a polished and relaxed presentation that
would never be hard to take.
But what the A85 lacks in power
output, it makes up for in terms of signal manipulation and clear, unadorned musical
detail, especially when paired with speakers appropriate to its output, such as the Epos
M15 or my small-box references, the Proac One S.
I think my love as rare as any she belied with false
compare
Hard as it is to pick a favorite among such worthy
contenders, the decision to highly recommend the Perreaux ECD2 and E160i is a no-brainer.
Both products are extremely well designed and well made. Neither is perfect, but nothing
else is either, and within their price range, both are competitive with my long-term
favorites. Used together, they offer a synergy that makes them even harder to criticize --
they play to one another's strengths.
Nope, when it comes to two components that offer this much
performance for such a relatively reasonable price, I can't complain a bit.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
Perreaux E160i Integrated Amplifier and ECD2 CD
Player
Price: $1495 USD each ($1595 each for chrome finish)
Warranty: Five year for parts and two years for labor
Perreaux Industries Ltd.
2 Kingsland Terrace
Kingsland
Auckland
New Zealand
Website: www.perreaux.com
(corporate site) and www.audioadvisor.com (North
American distributor)
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