Perreaux R200i - Manual (Page 5)

These characteristics, combined with absolute control and authority, make every listening
session a true pleasure. Perreaux has succeeded in a quasi-perfect symbiosis between two
audio components, namely speed and musicality. Grandiose, quick, powerful, authoritarian and
with an amount of control you would only expect from a heavy pre- and end combination, but
also equipped with speed, subtlety, refinement and compression less transparency. All this on
a level you would not expect from an integrated amplifier. The soundstage presented to us by
the R200i is open, wide and deep; you almost think there is 3D holographic reproduction
instead of a stereo system. Because of this almost entirely transparent character the amplifier
is very revealing, both towards the recordings and to the components around the amplifier. The
R200i hides nothing from and adds nothing to the real tonal color of the recording, source or
loudspeaker. The resolution of the reproduction is so high the instruments and voices become,
as if it were, physically touchable, they become completely disconnected from the soundstage.
Despite the very open, precise and detailed soundstage the reproduction never gets thin,
tenuous or fatiguing analytical.
The speed is presented to the listener in such a fluent way that I would sooner name the
reproduction to be absolutely neutral and musical, than I would name it purely analytical. An
aside: personally I think there is a great difference between a very detailed and a truly cold
analytical reproduction. A healthy dose of detail and transient reproduction give the musical
restitution just a bit more realism, whereas a purely analyzing product usually completely
destroys the coherence thus loosing a lot of musicality. The reproduction by the R200i is solid
as a rock and has a very natural presence. Another striking aspect is the formidable control
exercised by this giant over the loudspeakers. The double woofers of my Amati’s are kept firmly
in line by the R200i. Amplifiers that have no sufficient control are often responsible for a too
large amount of bass in our not-quite-finished (mostly where dampening is concerned) listening
room. However, this is not the case with this Radiance R200i, the dampening factor of more
than 2000 is clearly accountable for this. This results in a formidable bass control; not only is
the reproduction deep to the subsonic level, it is also tight, controlled and layered.
A wonderful recording to demonstrate this is the hybrid SACD “Far More Drums” by the Robert
Hohner Percussion Ensemble (DMP SACD-10). The stage is enormously wide and deep, a stage