To me, this is gear that brings the taste of the summit down to a price a less well-heeled audiophile can afford. This is not cheap gear by my standards as an audiophile, but then I’m not exactly in the market for a forty thousand dollar preamp. If I was, and I could only afford a twenty thousand dollar preamp, I’d look long and hard at the Mola Mola Makua and probably not look back.
As it turns out, even with the phono stage–which I’d consider nigh mandatory–this preamp comes in at quite a bit less than that–$12,200. Likewise, if I were an audiophile with a budget that didn’t stretch that high but I wanted a line stage control center that would give me the sonic purity that is often the realm of supremely expensive electronics, I’d also take a hard look at the Makua.
I challenge you to find a preamp which sounds significantly better and not merely different, for anywhere close to the price.
