@DesertHawk
Generally, preamps are considered the heart of a system. It is partly driven by nostalgia, perceived statement and user interaction. There will be a lot of other variables effecting the cost of the finished product. Here's a few:
A) Different costs due to country of manufacture.
B) Production, scale, quantities, handbuilt or automated production lines.
C) Use of "Boutique" components.
D) Case work. A beautifully finished case cost a lot more to produce than component costs. A case milled from a solid billet of aluminium with nice switches and knobs is more expensive than a plain black case with basic plastic switches and knobs.
E) Market/Product segmentation, e.g. custom high-end product vs budget OEM.
Do you need a preamplifier? Not a classical one per se. However, a modern preamp with integrated features such as DAC, DSP, headphone amp, line input, volume knob, remote control will often come at a higher price.
Generally, preamps are considered the heart of a system. It is partly driven by nostalgia, perceived statement and user interaction. There will be a lot of other variables effecting the cost of the finished product. Here's a few:
A) Different costs due to country of manufacture.
B) Production, scale, quantities, handbuilt or automated production lines.
C) Use of "Boutique" components.
D) Case work. A beautifully finished case cost a lot more to produce than component costs. A case milled from a solid billet of aluminium with nice switches and knobs is more expensive than a plain black case with basic plastic switches and knobs.
E) Market/Product segmentation, e.g. custom high-end product vs budget OEM.
Do you need a preamplifier? Not a classical one per se. However, a modern preamp with integrated features such as DAC, DSP, headphone amp, line input, volume knob, remote control will often come at a higher price.
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