Hifiman Prelude

HiFiMAN Prelude Headphone Amplifier

The HiFiMAN Prelude is the latest reference headphone preamplifier from the brand, featuring a fully balanced, discrete, Class A MOS-FET transistor circuit. It provides enough power to drive any type of headphones.

As a result of HiFiMAN’s recent acquisition of Goldenwave, the Prelude was initially marketed under the Goldenwave brand. It retains the modern and refined aesthetic characteristic of Goldenwave products, with a black anodized aluminum chassis, a highly readable LED display, and easily accessible control buttons.

Fully Balanced Class A Architecture

The Prelude adopts a fully balanced Class A topology based on MOSFET transistors. This architecture reduces distortion and noise while offering great linearity across the entire audio bandwidth. The amplification circuit is entirely discrete, meaning it uses individual components rather than integrated circuits. This approach allows for better control of the audio signal and potentially better sound quality.

The input stage includes a precise unbalanced-to-balanced conversion circuit, allowing full exploitation of the benefits of the balanced architecture, even with unbalanced sources connected via the RCA inputs. The preamplification circuit is completely independent and adopts a Class A output structure, ensuring excellent attack capability and a natural timbre.

Power and Versatility

With an output power reaching 10W under 32 Ω in balanced mode, the Prelude can authoritatively drive almost all headphones on the market, even the most demanding models like the HiFiMAN Susvara. It also delivers 6W under 64 ohms, 2.5W under 150 ohms, 1W under 300 Ω, and 560mW under 600 ohms.

This high power, combined with the low output impedance, allows the Prelude to perfectly control the transducers and exploit their full potential in terms of dynamics, speed, and resolution. The amplifier thus adapts to a very wide range of headphones, from the most sensitive to the most difficult to drive.

Custom Power Supply

To power its amplification stages, the Prelude uses a custom low-noise, high-power toroidal transformer. This is paired with a high-speed, low-noise multi-channel voltage regulation circuit. This power supply provides clean and stable current to all stages, contributing to the overall sound quality.

Optimized Mechanical Design

The Prelude’s casing is machined from a single block of aluminum. This monoblock design helps isolate harmful resonances that could degrade audio performance, ensuring a purer sound reproduction.

The volume potentiometer is a high-quality ALPS quad model, renowned for its precision and reliability. It ensures perfect balance between the left and right channels.

The front panel includes a 4-pin XLR balanced headphone jack, a 6.35mm unbalanced headphone jack, and the volume potentiometer. The rear panel houses the balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA inputs, as well as a pre-amplified output allowing the Prelude to be used as a preamplifier in a traditional Hi-Fi system.

Sound Performance

Natural and Precise Reproduction

The Hifiman Prelude is characterized by a very natural sound signature, without any artificial emphasis in the spectrum. It demonstrates great speed with sharp attacks and clear decays, without becoming analytical. This faithful and balanced reproduction perfectly highlights the intrinsic qualities of the headphones used, without adding or subtracting anything.

Transparency is key, with a very high level of detail that allows you to hear the slightest nuances in recordings. The soundstage is wide and airy, with precise instrument placement and a great sense of space. The Prelude excels in reproducing timbres, with rich and nuanced textures across the entire spectrum.

Its main strengths are:

• Fully symmetrical Class A architecture
• High output power capable of driving all headphones
• Discrete amplification circuit for better signal control
• Custom-made, clean, and stable power supply
• Monoblock aluminum casing limiting resonances
• Natural, precise, and dynamic sound reproduction
• Versatile use thanks to the preamplifier function

Technical Specifications

Architecture

• Fully symmetrical design for precise and detailed sound imaging
• Class A metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) circuit for pure and powerful sound reproduction
• High gain to drive the most demanding headphones

Audio Performance

• Frequency response: 20 Hz - 50 kHz (± 1 dB at 1 kHz)
• Signal-to-noise ratio: - 113 dB
• Total harmonic distortion and noise (THD+N): 0.0009% at 1 kHz

Output Power

(0.1% at 1 kHz, balanced)

• 10 W at 32 Ω
• 6 W at 64 Ω
• 2.5 W at 150 Ω
• 1 W at 300 Ω
• 560 mW at 600 Ω

Connectivity

Front Panel

• Balanced XLR 3-pin output
• Unbalanced 6.35 mm mini-jack output
• Balanced XLR 4-pin output
• Balanced 4.4 mm mini-jack output

Rear Panel

• Audio input: Unbalanced RCA, balanced XLR
• Preamp output: Balanced XLR, unbalanced RCA
• Power connector (110 V or 220 V depending on version)

Physical Characteristics

• Power consumption: < 50 W
• Dimensions (W × H × D): 330 × 56 × 260 mm
• Weight: 6.5 kg