High&Style - Pilium Leonidas Integrated Amplifier

AUTHOR OLIVER DRÁB
FOTO PILIUM/ OLIVER DRÁB

You know the movie 300? The lead role of King Leonidas was played by the stellar Gerard Butler, who, as the fearless leader of three hundred valiant Spartan warriors, defended the Thermopylae Pass, and with it the entire Greek nation, from the invasion of the massive Persian army. King Leonidas' name was chosen by Konstantinos Pilios, the chief designer and owner of the Greek company PILIUM, as the name for arguably the world's most innovatively designed integrated amplifier. Let's get acquainted. His Majesty King PILIUM Leonidas.

Our story begins much like that of Greek mythology almost 500 years before Christ. Our goal, however, was not defense, but on the contrary an attempt to break through the passage of our house staircase in order to get on the audio rack the biggest and most powerful amplifier we have ever tested in our editorial listening room. One hundred kilograms of net weight plus a sturdy 20-kilogram portable "briefcase". Well, admit it, this is no longer a job for a bunch of amateurs, but for a serious bounty service. After a tough climb, the first sweet reward came in the form of unpacking and the installation itself. At the bottom of a trunk fitted with a quad of safety fasteners, which is probably also used to store missile nuclear warheads, the great King Leonidas himself was blowing his nose on a comfortable foam pad. The "case" opens sophisticatedly nicely from the bottom for easier handling of the powerful iron inside, thus eliminating the need for a difficult over the top edge. Now get him in the rack.

Installation & string

The next few dozen minutes were spent rewiring the components and speaker terminals with Tellurium Q, the UK's top-quality cabling. The small ultimate manufactory based in a forgotten English town was founded by Simon Lomax, who still produces his complete range by hand, guaranteeing unprecedented precision, quality and also output control of all cables. Since I mentioned the interconnect wiring, it would be appropriate to complete the entire tested chain. The transducer was the ultimate Aqua Formula xHD DAC, which we have already tested in our magazine some time ago. A quality source of analog signal was provided by the editorial gramophone EAT Forte, which with its dimensions and weight of 80 kilograms perfectly second in the rack to the large Leonidas. The EAT No5 and finally the EAT E-Glo - S phono preamplifier of the same brand.

Design & Construction

The Pilium Leonidas is virtually indistinguishable in construction and design from the monumental Hecules monoblocks or the Achilles, Iasonas or Hermes stereo amplifiers. This is an unprecedentedly designed model whose solid chassis is made of anodised aluminium. The sides are fitted with gigantic heat sinks that perfectly absorb the heat released inside the amplifier under load. The outer chassis does not heat up at all even during multi-hour "firing". The monumental front panel is almost two centimetres thick and, with its deeply milled PILIUM lettering at the top, looks truly impressive. Even a light armoured personnel carrier would not be ashamed of such a protective shield. Underneath is an information and control display that extends the function of the puristically designed remote control with additional functions. It responds perfectly to touch and the audible click of the relay informs you of each setting or step change in volume. Displays the currently selected input and volume level. An IR remote control port is mounted below the display. The LEONIDAS model name is again surgically precision milled at the bottom centre of the front panel. You won't find a single screw on the body of the amplifier and everything fits to the hundredth of a millimetre. Nothing more, nothing less. Pure, beautiful and cool as a precision-crafted Arctic ice cube in a glass of fine brandy. The back panel, that's a happier song. If you haven't come across a pair of power connectors for power cables before, know that this is a first-time introduction for me personally. True dual-mono construction simply requires the ultimate approach. Each channel therefore has its own power supply and has its own control electronics on both the preamplifier and power amplifier sides. The rocker button to turn the amplifier on and off is large enough that if you need to turn it off when going away for an extended period of time, you can feel it without having to fumble with a super-heavy machine. It is right in the middle between the network connectors. Slightly higher up on the sides above each other are pairs of massive swivel speaker terminals allowing both forks and banjos to be connected. In both cases it is an extremely coherent joint. At the top, there are five analog inputs for connecting your music components. Specifically, it is a linear pair of XLR and a trio of RCA inputs with a balanced design. If you were looking for a digital section, you're out of luck. The philosophy of the puristically designed integrator does not foresee such a possibility. In fact, to be of adequate quality, the transducer would simply not fit inside the amplifier. In the Divine product line, however, Pilium has a solution in the form of the top-of-the-range Elektra DAC. Pilium Leonidas is built to get the absolute most out of your loudspeakers, regardless of their size or overall complexity. The power of the amplifier is provided by 44 output transistors operating in parallel in class AB with a low input impedance of less than 0.1 Ω. With such equipment, the Leonidas achieves 2 x 200 W at an 8-ohm load. At 4 Ω it delivers 2 x 400 W and at 2 Ω it produces 2 x 800 W. Inside the front, a pair of super-powerful German Noratel transformers with 2 x 1.2 kW of power are at home. Capacitors with a total capacitance of 200 000 μF are used for the power supply.

Sound

The privilege of playing together with the ultimate integrator Pilium Leonidas was given to our editorial speakers Sonus faber Amati Futura. For starters, I treated them to something nicely "from the floor" right off the vinyl. The track Dark Necessities (Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Getaway 2016) presented me with the naked truth about this chilly piece of iron. I was expecting a perfect sound full of detail, chilling precision with a spectacular scene. I really got all of that in the first track, but with the addition of something pleasantly warming, like when you take a sip of a fine cognac and its warmth gradually spreads throughout your body. The band's drummer Chad Smith performed a great kick drum warm-up at the beginning of the song. The bass is voluminous, perfectly delineated and has the power and punch of a kick from a raging bull. Michael Peter Balzary aka Flea's bass guitar sounded real, dry and uncoloured from the bowels of Leonidas with absolute precision and professional control. Anthony's voice has just the right silky depth and exemplary, almost plastic spatial orientation. I haven't enjoyed the LA Peppers this much on any integrated gig so far. From digital in MQA quality I gradually went through all my favourite songs by Patricia Barber, ZAZ and I also dusted off a Depeche Mode record, specifically the Violator album. With each song or passage I focused on, I couldn't help but be amazed at the ease with which Leonidas maintains a high tempo in even the most challenging recordings. In the passages of several songs, where I always needed to fine-tune the sound image with the equalizer on the preamplifier, I suddenly didn't need to fine-tune it. As if Leonidas knew exactly where to pull which note and which hiss or cymbal would already sound unpleasantly high.

Pilium Leonidas is an uncompromising detector of any error or deficiency in the recording, but also in your home chain. But if you've got your house in order, the Pilium Leonidas integrated amplifier takes your setup to a whole new sonic dimension. So if you happen to be looking around for a new ultimate amplifier that can easily outplay most split sets, I definitely highly recommend you check it out. Its 39,000 price tag is definitely not for everyone, but if you do decide to go for it, it will likely be the final stop for you and your lineup.

PROS

• clean minimalist design
• true dual mono construction
• stunning clarity in the recording
• large and airy scene
• voluminous bass with excellent control

Power: 200 W @ 8 Ω, 400 W @ 4 Ω, 800 W @ 2 Ω (1 Ω stable)
Frequency characteristics: > 100 kHz
Distortion: <0,01 %
Inputs: 2 pairs XLR, 3 pairs RCA
Output impedance: <0,1 Ω
Dimensions (H x W x D): 310 x 480 x 490 mm x 480 x 490 mm
Net weight: 100 kg
Price: 39 000 €
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