I'd agree the Audiomat Arpege has issues with the bass and a treble that tends to roll off, but this thing MAKES MUSIC, which is more than I can say for the majority of solid-state and digital amps I've auditioned in the last few years... The midrange is truly superb and almost makes up for its shortcomings.
Haven't heard the Prelude, but the top dog Opera is in another class altogether: fully class A topology, high-grade parts throughout, superb build quality, with high-quality O/P trannies that represent a large proportion of its admittedly elevated cost. It's BY FAR the best amp I've heard in my system and supremely musical yet accurate.
I've compared it to the likes of:
Pathos new Classic One
Bel Canto eVo2i
DK Designs VS1-1
Cayin 265Ai
Vecteur I-4
Bent TVC / Bryston 3B-SST
Bent TVC / Audio Research 100.2
Bent TVC / Threshold S-5000e
Bent TVC / ICE H20 digital
PSA PCA-2 / HCA-2
Audiomat Arpege Reference
The Audiomat gear alone made MUSIC in my system.
Haven't heard the Prelude, but the top dog Opera is in another class altogether: fully class A topology, high-grade parts throughout, superb build quality, with high-quality O/P trannies that represent a large proportion of its admittedly elevated cost. It's BY FAR the best amp I've heard in my system and supremely musical yet accurate.
I've compared it to the likes of:
Pathos new Classic One
Bel Canto eVo2i
DK Designs VS1-1
Cayin 265Ai
Vecteur I-4
Bent TVC / Bryston 3B-SST
Bent TVC / Audio Research 100.2
Bent TVC / Threshold S-5000e
Bent TVC / ICE H20 digital
PSA PCA-2 / HCA-2
Audiomat Arpege Reference
The Audiomat gear alone made MUSIC in my system.