Many audiophiles believe that they can get along without any preamplifier in these digital times. However, I do not share this point of view: To me a preamplifier is an indispensable partner that, by the way, also should have sufficient balanced inputs. Yet, the Audia Flight does not only impress with its five XLR inputs that were kept on board also in the new mk2 version. There's much more to it than that.

Even if today some excellent value-for-money rated D/A converters such as the Mytek Brooklyn not only offer an analogue input, but highlight a front-to-back analogue signal path, including a corresponding volume control, I still cannot do without a preamplifier. On the one hand, at least three balanced output equipped sources are eager to be alternately connected to the power amps, while on the other hand the convenient installation of nearly the complete audio system next to the listening position requires almost six meters of line cabling to the power amplifiers which sit beside the speakers. So to cover that distance, the signal should be processed in an optimal way. In other words, the output stage should provide a certain current delivery capacity and a quite low output impedance. The dogma that fewer components within the signal path should, in principle, lead to better sound, I cannot confirm by any of my experimental trials. (I must admit that there haven't been that many of those, but what I have done indicates what I have noted.) Converters without analogue volume control I never run without a preamplifier, not even for a short test, because I constantly fear that reducing the volume also reduces the resolution at the same time. No matter how much I've been enthusiastic about digital technology over the past five years, I still remain conservative when the preamplifier comes into play.

With this kind of approach I seem to perfectly match the target group focused by Audia Flight with their Strumento n°1 mk2. Audia Flight is a company that is known for the appreciation of classic high-end values paired with an appropriate use of materials. This already starts with the packaging:  Just like my long-standing and current favourite, Einstein's The Preamp, this Italian preamplifier is also delivered in a heavy wooden box. But even without the box it still weighs 28 kilograms. This is also due to the extremely attractive and high-quality processed aluminum housing. And in addition, the 40 low ohm filter capacitors designed for voltages up to 100 volts, each with 680 microfarads, as well as the four ferromagnetically shielded and potted mains transformers also significantly contribute to the weight. Also consider the two 75 watt toroidal transformers for the audio circuitry of each of the two audio channels, a 25 watt transformer for the control electronics, and one with an output power of 15 watts for the logical circuitry. The kilograms certainly mount up! The power supply for the audio circuit shows eight voltage regulators of very low noise that provide ± 60 and ± 18 volts for each channel.