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To present my opinion on certain products, I need a reference to compare it to. That alone makes for an already halfway successful review then. Such comparisons explain many things which would be hard to clarify otherwise either because of lack of time or proper vocabulary. In this particular case I'd like to use the Polish Ear Stream Pearl as the soul mate reference. The key features of the Perfidus were good resolution and selectivity, speed and high dynamics. Especially the latter surprised considering how this machine doesn't seem to have much headroom. Yet it was mostly dynamics which made incompatibility with some cans so irritating. When I listened to an old Walter Gieseking solo piano recording, each crescendo immediately emphasized the upper octaves. This amp was otherwise able to present differences between strokes and differentiated tonal differences between detail fine. This effect was obvious not just with overtone-rich piano but also older recordings like Music For Prancing from the Warne Marsh Quartet. Originally issued on the Mode label, this was wonderfully restored from vinyl by Japanese Muzak. Even so it exhibits very limited frequency response almost as if there was no treble. The Perfidus played this carefully, clearly presenting the weak case especially with the HiFiMans which were slightly warm with some lower midrange emphasis though without getting syrupy or slow. Usually warm-sounding amplifiers average out dynamics but the Slovenian managed to somehow emphasize them.


Its tonal balance might be described as gently lit up with solid low bass. The latter was most obvious with the HE-300 which offered the most 'modern' sound by having the widest response and great dynamics albeit with a slight dullness between 900Hz and 1kHz. It was pure pleasure to listen to Depeche Mode from their singles box N°.3, to the dense rich sounds from Random Trip and also to the beautiful deep voice of Allana Taylor on Old Friends – New Roads. The sound was full but also open and fast. The last quality repeated itself a lot in my notes. It seems to be a core feature of the Perfidus. It might even 'upgrade' its selectivity a bit by helping to differentiate cymbals very nicely which in return made recordings like Dead Can Dance's Anabasis and Thick As A Brick from the latest issue of that album breathe and flow, giving instruments a proper acoustic surrounding and structuring the overall presentation really well.

Selectivity was quite impressive. This allowed me to visualize the sonic images spread wide across the headstage and into the depth domain. The density of the sound perhaps wasn't as deep as some high-end competitors deliver but considering the price that shouldn't come as a surprise. What still might surprise are the many small details previously hidden in the mix which were now laid bare more openly whilst remaining integrated into the bigger picture. I could clearly tell what came from the front and what from the back. The presentation was clean and distinct, with some tendency to brightness as stated by the manufacturer himself. With Beyerdynamics and AKGs the amp would become more creamy but both frequency extremes diminished. I liked it more that way because for me coherence and depth mattered most which these cans delivered. But it will always be a personal choice which headphones match best and hopefully I provided some clues on what to expect with this amp.

Summary. One of the most interesting pieces of intel one can get from any manufacturer is what gear they use when working on the final voicing of a particular product. Of course the usual idea is to create an all'rounder which would integrate easily with most systems but ultimately the manufacturer does the voicing in the context of very specific systems. I find it easiest to obtain such information from smaller manufacturers who don't just calculate their own profit and loss statements but also consider their customers. [Does that imply that bigger manufacturers don't consider their clients or that such information is harder to come by? - Ed.]


Blaž Erzetič is one of these. When asked he named Grado SR325, Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro, Sennheiser HD600, Sennheiser HD280 Pro and certain smaller designs like AKG K450 and K440 and Koss K/6X. Before I received this information I had assumed that high-impedance headphones would best suit the Perfidus to think of the 300Ω Sennheiser HD800 and as my next choice the 900Ω Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro and only then the 71Ω AKG K701 and as a kind of exception the 50Ω HifiMan HE-300. The AKG offered a quite warm creamy sound which I thought nicely complemented the amp and the HE-300 brought higher sensitivity to the table which might also have been beneficial.