Spending more $$$ doesn't really add more bells and whistles. There are a lot of budget preamps with tons of features and there are tons of expensive ones without many features. I ended up getting a used McIntosh c47. I love the McIntosh sound and it can do everything the newer and more expensive models can do. The C53 has a few more inputs but the sound quality to my ears was identical, so I couldn't justify spending more then double the price.
How much $$ do bells and whistles add to preamp?
Hi All, I’m looking for a new preamp, but I don’t want or need things like home theater bypass, streaming, DAC, headphones, etc. Just a great preamp (maybe with phono). I’m looking at lots of models (Like Classe, Wyred4Sound, Peachtree, etc.) that come with lots of extras, and I’m wondering how much of the price devolves to those add-ons that I don’t want. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated, as usual.