Sound,build and finish,nice rack presence.

Dual bus layout takes some getting used to,but once understood,gives you total control over your system.

A pre-amplifier is the control centre and heart of any conventional audio system,all your source componenent signals have to travel through the pre-amp on their way to the power-amp,then finally to the speakers. So it pays to buy the best pre and power amp you can afford.I bought this pre and the matching SPM600 power amp,three years ago,and built the rest of my system around them,they have performed without fault,and thrilled me,from the first day out of the box,to today. Build quality is exemplary,and the machining and finish of the aluminium casework,and the hefty remote control is exquisite. Chord pre-amps have a dual bus layout,so you can record from one source and listen to another at the same time,this takes some time with your nose in the instruction book,but once understood,is very useful. Some say the sound is cold and clinical,but i find them very neutral and open sounding.They reproduce accurately whatever is fed into them,from the youthful exuberance and excitement of early Emerson,Lake & Palmer or Yes,to the delicate textures of early Genesis,from sultry Diana Krall's voice and fantastic brushwork of her drummer,to Miles Davis sometimes ear splitting trumpet dead centre stage,and onto the mighty peaks and crescendos of well recorded orchestral music.However,they are not forgiving of poorly recorded material,which is only fair (you know the old saying,garbage in,garbage out)