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.

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Showing 1 response by yoyoyaya

If its a  $6k pre, an add in DAC probably adds around $1K to the retail price - that's very much a ballpark estimate. However, the critical point is that unless you need dac / streaming functionality, then you are better spending your money on a preamp that doesn't have those features.

It's worth taking account of your long term plans for your system. If you plan any digital upgrades, then you may end up with a separate DAC and a redundant DAC in your pre, and a less good pre than you would have had if you had forgone the inbuilt DAC in the first place.