The Neve Pre-amp
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The audiophile preamp and DAC from Neve are the real news of the Fidelice series. Because Neve already had a headphone amplifier in the pro audio series, the RNHP.
The separate Fidelice headphone amp is actually an upgrade of this. The preamp has two analog inputs, single ended (RCA) and balanced (XLR / TRS). Digital inputs: optical, coaxial and USB. The balanced input has a toggle switch at the back to adjust the gain to -10 dB (usual with an RCA line output) or +4 dB (usual connection value with a balanced output).
This is something we also see on mixing desks, to match the voltage on the input channel as closely as possible to the source. The line outputs are single ended or balanced. Next to these outputs we see a rocker switch with which you have the choice to bypass the volume control of the preamp: what goes in, goes out. Pay attention to this before turning on the power amplifier or active speakers, because as small as the switch is, the consequences can be severe for your equipment and ears.
On the front we see a switch from left to right that turns off the preamplifier when you only want to listen to the headphones. Then the headphone part and next to it the source selection buttons. Then an indicator for the samplerate in PCM and DSD. On the right side a red volume control.