The DENAFRIPS preamp is active, discrete Class A buffer, unity gain design, i.e. it does attenuation on <= 0dB gain.
The design goal is to retain as much as music information from the source to the power amp, without colouration or additional boost in any frequency. Denafrips believes that unity gain is most, if not all audiophiles need. Most of the power amps on the market are high gain (>= 22dB), hence, the power amp will perform at its max power output at relatively low input signal.
The Athena preamp is the flagship, emphasis on the power supply - DENAFRIPS believes power supply is one of the key foundations of good sound quality. The MU metal shielding, encapsulated PSU and all, yielded a much lower noise floor.
Design highlight:
Unity gain
Resistors Based Volume Attenuator
Class A, bipolar output stage
Non large feedback buffer
XLR4 Pure Direct
MU Metal Shielded Encapsulated PSU
The XLR4 is a direct passthrough input that isn't controlled by the selector relays switching. The signal connected to the XLR4 will be attenuated and available at all outputs. The reason behind this is for the customers who only have a single source and wanted the purest signal possible. As the XLR4 signal doesn't pass through any relay contact.
The Athena preamp is a true balanced preamp. Hence, DENAFRIPS decided to have more XLR inputs for it instead of RCA. If most of your signal sources are single ended, you may consider using the RCA/XLR adapter to use with the preamp.
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