This Preamp Costs More Than a Fancy Sports Car

Goldmund’s Mimesis Statement is a high-end analogue preamplifier priced at $240,000 in the US, built across three separate chassis. The system is designed to isolate the audio circuitry and power supplies, but its extraordinary price also reflects the product’s precision engineering, distinctive design and appeal as a symbol of wealth and exclusivity.

The review describes a listening setup costing $1,482,000 before cables: a $27,000 network streamer, two power amplifiers priced at $500,000 each, and speakers costing $215,000 a pair, alongside the preamplifier. Goldmund reports total harmonic distortion of 0.0002 per cent, while the writer argues that diminishing returns set in well before this price level and sees status and exclusivity as central to the purchase.