Integrated DAC/amplifier.

Rated at 250W/8ohm
Made by: Perreaux Industries Ltd, New Zealand
Supplied by: Elite Audio (Distribution) Ltd, London
Telephone: 0203 397 1119

INTEGRATED DAC/AMPLIFIER Web: www.perreaux.com; www.eliteaudiouk.com

Price: £6895-£8820

Perreaux Eloquence 255i

Still billed as ‘The World’s Most Powerful Integrated Amplifier’, Perreaux’s MOSFET
flagship has been tickled-up with a new digital input module. And more power too...?
Review: Ken Kessler Lab: Paul Miller

S
ide-by-side, you’d be forgiven for relevant now than when the 250i was simply by connecting it to the 255i with
seeing no changes between the launched – headphone listening has an appropriate lead. Across the front, as
Perreaux Eloquence 255i integrated become a primary method, especially as before with the 250i, the super-clean
amplifier and the earlier 250i [HFN the sound quality of ’phones has improved panel contains a massive volume rotary,
Aug ’12]. Same rotary, same display, same beyond our wildest dreams. described by Perreaux as ‘a 3rd-generation attenuation in 10dB steps down to –40dB), trigger inputs of various types and RS232 ABOVE: A CPU governs input selection and
number of buttons – even the price would If this were merely a fixed headphone microprocessor-controlled analogue maximum volume trim, clock configuration, input for configuring system integration. labelling, volume trim and ramp rate, balance
leave you clueless, the six years between socket, I wouldn’t describe it as a device’. To its right is the display, crucial all manner of display parameters and At the centre is an IEC mains input, the trim and so much more – all revealed on the
them inflating the £5695 of the earlier headphone amp. Instead, the ¼in socket for its menu usage, above a row of press- numerous other functions. primary on/off rocker and a fuse holder. The back-lit display that hosts Perreaux’s menu
unit to £6895 in standard, line-level-only below the row of operation buttons is buttons for menu navigation and all other So totally customisable is this unit that digital inputs are placed in a row above the
trim. Given the recent drop in the value of rated for 32-600ohm models, and the functions save on/off. A press button on the one needs an evening just to set it up for analogue sockets. dispute the claims as most powerful-ever
Sterling, that alone could account for the menu programme allows you to refine its lower left of the fascia takes the 255i out total personalisation. Indeed, the menu integrated, but that’s the only area where
increase, so full marks to Perreaux. performance for volume trim and balance. I of, or places it into, standby. instructions filled seven pages in the IT’S AN ANIMAL! Perreaux should be censured. By claiming
tried a range of cans from 20ohm upwards manual. If you are an inveterate fiddler, It took only minutes to drop this into the such, they simply set themselves up to
A HOST OF INPUTS with no problems, including old Beyers, COMPLETE CUSTOMISATION however, you will want to situate the 255i system in place of my Audio Research pre/ be bettered or contradicted, which is
What will up the price of the new unit, the Audeze LCD-X [HFN Sep ’14], assorted That’s it for controls, though it’s worth at eye level, because the small back-lit power combination. Sources included the unnecessary, as the 255i is a powerhouse
still billed as the ‘world’s most powerful Sennheisers and Focals – all were handled noting that two remotes are provided [see display is hard to read if you Marantz CD12 and Pro-Ject to reckon with, whether or not it’s the
integrated amplifier’ [see PM’s boxout,
p59], are the two modules necessary
with aplomb.
Next to the headphone socket, also in
p61] – a small, simplified handset for the
basics and another for full control, menu
are even slightly off axis.
Only when you turn the ‘I gave up in CD Box transports, the
Mytek Brooklyn DAC [HFN
most bad-ass unit currently available.
So I quickly moved on, because the
for anyone using other than line-level
only sources. The new DAC module adds
keeping with modern trends, is a 3.5mm
stereo auxiliary input. Thus, the Perreaux
access, synergy with other Perreaux models
and the like. The menu allows the user to
unit around will you see
what this model adds to
genuine fear of Aug ’17] and the SME 30/2
turntable [HFN Nov 1990]
255i never failed to ‘light up’ both sets of
speakers. When, for example, assaulting
£1385 to the price, while the MM/MC owner coming home from a jog or a flight change everything from the naming of the original. Across the top destroying the with Series V arm and my ears with Crabby Appleton’s ‘Go Back’

loudspeakers’
phono module costs £540, so the amp as or anywhere else he or she might be using inputs to balance trim to muting levels are the speaker terminals London Gold cartridge. from their eponymous debut [Man In The
reviewed comes in at £8820. It is thus, a portable can continue using that source (which is particularly nice, offering levels of for normal or bi-wiring, on Speakers included the Moon; MITMCD31], I was immediately able
thanks to a host of digital inputs including either side of an earthing Gato Audio FM-50s [see to discern a different kind of slam from
two S/PDIF coax (RCA), two optical (Toslink) post. Below, in left-right mirror image are p54] and the Wilson Yvettes [HFN Feb ’17]. that which greeted my ears via the ARC
and one USB-B, and a phono stage to XLRs for one balanced source and four sets Absolutely no snags occurred, no grazed REF75SE. And I used an SPL meter to ensure
handle renewed interest in vinyl, a proper of RCAs configured as line inputs, with knuckles, no gnashing of teeth. In other that it was extra level that I was hearing!
21st century control unit, save for any Input 1 marked ‘phono’ for the module, words, this is a dream to set up. Having received the Gato FM-50s the
wireless connectivity. should one be fitted. Input 4 bypasses the But, Holy Cow! This thing is an animal... same week as the Perreaux 255i, and
The MOSFET power amplifier is still volume control for signal throughput, eg, Yeah, yeah – I know PM has measured having just reviewed them as above, I
rated at 250W/8ohm, and it remains a as a home theatre loop. At the bottom are challengers that can, in certain cases, repeated the test regime by dropping
behemoth, reminding me that I wrote in the new amp and leaving all else as
back in 2012 that it is one of those WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL? before. Same with the music – a boon to
‘single-box amps that will never betray expediency as I was able to simply compare
its non-separates status. It behaves, ‘The World’s Most Powerful Integrated Amplifier’ is the bold claim made for my listening notes.
unapologetically, in exactly the manner the new 255i on Perreaux’s website, with the caveat ‘In reference to the 255i
you’d demand of any high-end unit with as a Class AB integrated amplifier’. Rated at 2x250W, or 320W, or 360W/8ohm SILKY PHONO STAGE
vast reserves of power – with grace depending on where you choose to look on the website, flyer or manual, the After that quick burst of ‘Go Back’, just to
and guts’. That summary proves equally 255i is certainly powerful as it actually delivers closer to 2x435W/8ohm [see shake the rafters, I got mono operation
applicable to the 255i. Lab Report, p61]. But is it truly the most powerful integrated, ever? That out of the way with Jackie Wilson With Billy
If space-saving is part of your future rather depends on how we define the power – into 8ohm or better reflecting Ward & The Dominoes [Varèse Sarabande
plans, this becomes, effectively, three its speaker load tolerance as power, or current, into 2 or 1ohm? Marantz’s 302 066 553 2]. Using it primarily to assess
units in one: preamp, power amp and PM-10 offered 620W/8ohm [HFN Aug ’17] but this is a Class D design, and only focus, and as an aid to playing with the
proper DAC. Make that four, as there’s mustered 170W/1ohm, while Musical Fidelity’s Nu-Vista 800 [HFN Nov ’14] menus, all was rock solid in the centre.
a headphone amp too. It’s even more delivered a slightly lower 2x325W/8ohm but with a massive 2.2kW/1ohm Vocal quality was a bit less ‘warm’ sounding
(46.4A) under dynamic conditions. So too, the Krell S-550i [HFN Jul ’13] offered than via the all-valve Audio Research, but
RIGHT: As with the 250i, the 255i’s interior 2x336W/8ohm with 2.4kW/1ohm (49.4A). Judged by these standards the no more than one expects on solid-state
is dominated by a huge toroidal mains 255i, which is protected at 1.5kW/2ohm and 610W/1ohm (26.7A), is arguably versus tubes (a gap that has narrowed over
transformer feeding MOSFET power amps on less powerful. However, unless you have the world’s least sensitive/lowest the decades). The 255i sounded deliciously
its side heatsinks. Note the thick multistranded impedance speakers in tow, you’d be hard-pressed to judge the difference! PM sweet with this early ’50s vocal group
speaker cabling and new DAC module [top] material via CD.

Reprinted from Hi-Fi News | www.hifinews.co.uk www.hifinews.co.uk | Reprinted from Hi-Fi News

HFN April Perreaux Eloquence 255i Reprint.indd 59 16/03/2018 11:34

 LAB
REPORT
PERREAUX ELOQUENCE 255I
Like the 250i [HFN Aug ’12], this latest ‘250W’ Eloquence 255i
integrated will, in fact, deliver far closer to 2x435W/8ohm
and 2x680W/4ohm with a thundering 600W and 1137W,
respectively, under dynamic conditions. This is fractionally higher
than that achieved by the 250i (545W/8ohm and 1010W/4ohm)
although the profile of Perreaux’s protection regime has also
been ‘tweaked’ so that a higher 1438W is available into 2ohm
but a reduced 610W (from 810W) is permissible into 1ohm
[see Graph 1, below]. PSU noise was higher in this sample of the
255i than the 250i measured six years ago (–68dBV to –60dBV),
ABOVE: No fewer than five line inputs (one balanced on XLR) are joined by MM/MC, with the A-wtd S/N now reduced to 76.5dB from 81.5dB (re.
a preamp out/main amp in and a fixed tape output (all on RCAs), plus 4mm speaker 0dBW). This PSU noise also impacted the jitter/intermodulation
performance of the new DAC module, accounting for most of
terminals. There are also four S/PDIF digital ins (two coax/optical) and a USB Type-B the 1315psec (48kHz) and 790psec (96kHz) that was measured.
That aside, the 255i has fractionally higher (but not ‘high’)
But what made my day was the compression or clipping. And as ‘Go distortion at ~0.0025% versus ~0.0019% through the midrange
phono stage, which – and I have no Back’ lends itself to ear-bleeding over its full 1-250W rated bandwidth, but with the same
impressively consistent ~0.01% THD up to 20kHz. The low
idea why – made the London (née levels and the playing of air drums
0.013ohm output impedance, increasing to 0.06ohm at 20kHz
Decca) Gold sound more silky and (as much as air guitar), there was no and 0.33ohm at 100kHz is unchanged as is the response – still
refined than I have heard it via solid- way I could resist cranking it up. The flat from 1Hz up to 20kHz (–0.05dB) and 100kHz (–1.3dB) with
state. My reference EAT E-Glo phono only way I can describe the sheer very little drop-off into low impedances (just –0.55dB/20kHz
into 1ohm). The digital board, based on an ESS9038 DAC with
stage still has greater bloom and mass of air pushing at me is this: I
minimum phase filter selected by Perreaux, offers very low
depth, but the Perreaux 255i made gave up for fear of destroying the distortion of just 0.0003-0.0017% (20Hz-20kHz, 0dBFs), with a
the already shimmering presence speakers long before I reached the minimum of 0.0002% [see Graph 2] and with response limits of
of ‘Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom limits of the 255i. –0.02dB/20kHz, –0.2dB/45kHz and –0.6dB/90kHz with 48kHz,
White’ from Perez Prado’s Big Hits By Like the fat Owner’s Manual, 96kHz and 192kHz media, respectively. PM
Prado [RCA ‘Living Stereo’ LSP-2104], there is too much to cover when
just more vivid and natural. dealing with this amp. The digital
stages are almost a match for the
ROCKS WITH VIGOUR ridiculously good Mytek standalone
Of particular interest to inveterate DAC; there is unlikely to be a
cartridge changers, and those cartridge the phono section can’t
who love to compare pressings is match; and as has been emphasised,
the retrieval of detail. This is one power is certainly not an issue. It
clean-sounding phono section – and boils down to something that has
I say that as one who has been for nothing to do with sound at all...
ever spoiled by the silences offered In the debate over separates
by the DS Audio photoelectric versus integrateds, long resolved
cartridges, with their near-digital are matters of interference between ABOVE: Dynamic power output versus distortion into
blackness in the absence of low components, while this unit certainly 8ohm (black trace), 4ohm (red), 2ohm (blue) and
level shmutz. Prado’s orchestra has no weaknesses in the power 1ohm (green) speaker loads. Max. current is 26.7A
soared, with proper scale, but it was supply debate. Convenience? The
even easier to discern individual saving of three AC outlets? No
instruments with ease. question – this is an integrated amp
But back to Crabby Appleton. for those who favour expedience
My reason for concentrating on over complication, but without
this hard rock epic is to support the compromise. The only deciding
manufacturer’s mission statement factor – how it will sound in the
in creating such a powerful beast. target system?
Make no mistake: this is not the
world’s only integrated amp with HI-FI NEWS VERDICT
phono stage and DAC, but the
As with its predecessor, this is an
power claims may be the deal maker ABOVE: Distortion versus 24-bit digital signal level
example of composure applied
for many would-be purchasers. over a 120dB range at 1kHz (black) and 20kHz (blue)
to a take-no-prisoners attitude,
Leaving aside the need for power
for it does whatever you ask,
if one has hungry speakers, the
from delicate music to rave HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
other is to rock with vigour. Yes,
insanity. Aside from the omission Continuous power (<1% THD, 8/4ohm) 435W / 680W
I’m talking maximum SPLs without
of wireless connectivity – no Dynamic power (<1% THD, 8/4/2/1ohm) 600W / 1137W / 1438W / 610W
loss, thanks to a USB socket that
Output impedance (20Hz–20kHz) 0.013–0.065ohm (210ohm, pre)
welcomes all manner of devices
– this does it all with grace and Freq. resp. (20Hz–20kHz/100kHz) +0.0 to –0.1dB/–1.3dB

eloquence. While just under Digital jitter (S/PDIF at 48kHz/96kHz) 1315psec / 790psec
£9k ain’t chicken feed, it’s still a A-wtd S/N ratio (re. 0dBW/0dBFs) 76.5dB (Analogue) / 100.1dB (Dig)
helluva lot of amp for the dosh.
Dist. (20Hz-20kHz; 0dBW/–20dBFs) 0.0027–0.009%/0.0003–0.0017%
Sound Quality: 85% Power consumption (idle/rated o/p) 84W / 1030W (1W standby)
0 - - - - - - - - 100 Dimensions (WHD) / Weight 426x149x344mm / 25kg

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HFN April Perreaux Eloquence 255i Reprint.indd 61 16/03/2018 11:34