Preamplifier
well below typical
Among the 29 preamplifiers in the catalogue, this one is well below typical.
A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.
NVA passive preamp — designed to drive NVA power amps directly via low-capacitance NVA cable. The "unusual signal chain": no active line stage. Passive-aware rule credits transparency + zero added noise.
Assessed against 7 rivals across the sixty systems: 18 head-to-heads won, 18 lost.
The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.
10 lost · Anchored, Artisan, Cavity-Native, Characterful, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Music First Audio Baby Reference V2 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the NVA P50 MKII is the weaker preamplifier for that brief.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the preamplifier position.
3 lost· 1 won · Cavity-Native, Characterful, Romantic
Against the Cavity-Native brief, the Leema Neutron keeps the slot by a whisker.
With the Rega Aura Reference MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
With the Leema Hydra II, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the NVA P50 MKII is the weaker preamplifier for that brief.
2 lost· 7 won · Anchored, Artisan, Characterful, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path
Against the Anchored brief, the NVA P50 MKII takes the slot by a whisker.
With the Longdog Audio P6100M Biamp 2x2 (4 units), the pairing gains most on quietness at rest.
With the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the NVA P50 MKII is the weaker preamplifier — yet it wins here on fit: the pairing with the Longdog Audio P6100M Biamp 2x2 (4 units) gains quietness at rest under the Anchored weighting.
S/N exceeding 112dB A-weighted, THD <0.002%Audiolab 9000P/Q HomeTheaterReview specs + Audio Tailor review
S/N exceeding 112dB A-weighted, THD <0.002%Audiolab 9000P/Q HomeTheaterReview specs + Audio Tailor review
2 lost · Intimate
Against the Intimate brief, the EAR Yoshino 868L (Line) keeps the slot clearly.
With the EAR Yoshino 890, the pairing gives up most on midrange truth.
With the Rega Aura Reference MC, the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.
On its own merits the NVA P50 MKII is the weaker preamplifier for that brief.
868L line preamp, Tim de Paravicini valve designEAR Yoshino 868L + multi-decade Stereophile heritage
1 lost · Intimate
Against the Intimate brief, the Audio Note M2 Phono keeps the slot by a whisker.
With the Audio Note P1 SE, the pairing gives up most on midrange truth.
With the Naim NVC TT MM/MC, the pairing gains most on low-level clarity.
On its own merits the NVA P50 MKII is the weaker preamplifier for that brief.
Audio Note pre with onboard phono, classic SET-friendly voicingAudio Note M2 Phono + Stereophile heritage
0 lost· 8 won · Anchored, Artisan, Cavity-Native, Intimate, PRaT, Reference
Against the Anchored brief, the NVA P50 MKII takes the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the NVA P50 MKII is the stronger preamplifier for that brief.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the preamplifier position.
0 lost· 2 won · Artisan, Reference
Against the Artisan brief, the NVA P50 MKII takes the slot clearly.
With the Naim NVC TT MM/MC, the pairing gains most on quietness at rest.
With the Exposure XM9 Biamp 2x2 (4 units), the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the NVA P50 MKII is the weaker preamplifier — yet it wins here on fit: the pairing with the Naim NVC TT MM/MC gains quietness at rest under the Artisan weighting.
| is balanced internal | False |
|---|---|
| rca inputs | 4 |
| xlr inputs | 0 |
| line input impedance kohm | 10.0 |
| rca outputs | 1 |
| output impedance ohm | 600 |
| has pre supplied psu | False |
| gain db | 0.0 |
| notes |