Avantgarde Acoustic PRE Preamplifier

Wojciech Pacuła has posted a review of the Avantgarde Acoustic PRE preamplifier (~€9900) at High Fidelity. His conclusions:

“9,900 EUR makes today (at the official NBP exchange rate) 42,350 PLN, which is a lot of money. With this kind of money you could buy a small new car, or a big second hand car, or a small apartment in a small city, or pay for college. Very few people can afford that. But luxury goods are luxury goods for a reason. The PRE is one of them when it comes to build and finish, design and the sound.

If you take a look at the prices of its competitors you will find out that in comparison it is relatively inexpensive. Relatively, but that’s the only comparison that makes sense. It does not offer a perfect sound, there are some sonic aspects delivered better by the Soulution 720, some by the TAD C-600, and some by my Ayon Polaris III. Nevertheless, the whole concept is so convincing, so good that you have to ask yourself – does it make sense to pay more? For people who buy nothing short of perfection the answer is simple – yes, it does. Also for those who seek particular sound characteristics offered by the other devices, it does. But for vast majority of us audiophiles the answer might be different… ”

You can read the full review here.