Yesterday, we talked about the preamplifier as the system's gatekeeper—and how, perhaps surprisingly, it's the power supply that makes or breaks the whole design.
At its core, a preamp is a simple machine: it selects between inputs, adjusts the volume and balance, and sends the signal on its way. Input selector, attenuator, gain stage. That’s it. On paper, there’s not much to it. But in practice, each of those elements affects sound quality in profound ways. And over the last five decades, we’ve refined every one of them.
We’ve used every manner of potentiometer, stepped attenuators, and types of level controls imaginable. We’ve designed output stages that really define the state of the art. But what we keep coming back to—what truly defines the sound of a great preamp—is its power supply.
Why? Because audio is nothing but modulated power. What you’re hearing isn’t the signal itself—it’s the signal controlling the flow of power from the supply.
This is why we were among the first to pioneer external power supplies for our preamps. Why? So we could use transformers so large and robust they’d never fit inside the main chassis. We wanted magnetic isolation, massive energy reserves, and zero compromise. We kept the audio circuits inside, and moved the electrical heavy lifting out.
Over the years, we’ve refined every piece of the puzzle—faster regulators, quieter rectifiers, tighter layout, better shielding. But there was one area we’d never quite conquered: electrolytic capacitors. These are the big soda-can-looking parts inside most power supplies, and while they’re necessary for storing and filtering energy, they come with sonic baggage. They introduce grain. We tried everything—bypassing them, damping them, hiding them—but they were always the last audible compromise.
Until now.
In the PMG Signature Preamplifier, we finally did what we’ve always dreamed of: we eliminated nearly every electrolytic capacitor in the power supply and replaced them with large-value, high-voltage film capacitors. The kind that don’t age. The kind that don’t smear or haze. The kind that just sit there, holding power silently and cleanly, like a reservoir waiting to be called on.
Yes, they’re big. Yes, they’re expensive. And yes, they were a nightmare to fit into the chassis. But once we heard what they did, there was no going back.
This is everything we’ve learned about preamplifiers in 50 years—distilled, purified, and made better with one simple, radical change.
Can’t wait for you to hear it.
