It's a fair question. At the risk of sounding snarky, I really do understand supply and demand and admittedly don't understand manufacturing audio equipment.
But my question basically boils down to:
A preamp = "electrical guts" + connectors + manufacturing
A power amp = "different electrical...
It's interesting when comparing this review to the Crown XLS 2502 https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/crown-xls2502-stereo-amplifier-review.10627/
With the risk of generalizing, the people who are questioning this amp seem to be questioning the power.
The counter...
What do you mean cynical? Did they provide samples with the assumed benefit of generating hype near their release? Sure, but I don't think that makes them evil. Did they bias Amir's or others' reviews? That a much, much more serious accusation.
As for the 88% rating it good or great, I mean...
I don't want to speak for everyone but I think it's a question of ideal amp use and price point. At this price, I think it's fair to compare to purifi and Hypex builds. You say worse performance but minimally worse (and possibly not audibly worse). And it's not exactly fair to say you have to...
LOL. Maybe. I haven't checked. It's been a long time since I have even thought about traveling to Europe. That said, if I was getting a purifi or Hypex, I'd start with Buckeye.
How do you square that away with Amir saying, "Honestly, there is no way I could ever build you a preamp with this functionality and performance and sell it at this price."
There must be something in there that cost alot.
I thought maybe something like this might be the case.
Are there situations when this doesn't matter? For example, do can you "get away" with directly connecting your dac if you have active speakers instead of passive? Does the output impedance of your dac (or phono stage or whatever) make a...