PS Audio PMG Signature Preamplifier
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Zero distortion clarity and noise, so you get everything you want to hear, and nothing you don’t.
With unsullied acoustic transparency, the PMG Preamplifier delivers zero-distortion clarity, so you get everything you want to hear, and nothing you don’t.
The Paul McGowan Signature Preamplifier isn’t an evolution—it’s a revolution. It’s our flagship, the very best we know how to build, and the first product in 50 years to carry the name of our founder. It had to. This time, it’s personal. Born from a lifetime of relentless pursuit, this is the purest, most transparent conduit between music and emotion we’ve ever created. With a vanishingly low noise floor of -145dB—beyond the limits of human perception—it uncovers musical truth with explosive dynamics, infinite depth, and holographic imaging. Nothing we’ve built comes close. Once you hear it, there’s no going back. It’s not just a preamp. It’s a revelation.
Design
The Paul McGowan Signature Preamplifier is a bold leap beyond anything that’s come before. Its fully balanced circuitry delivers an unprecedented level of purity and control. With a dynamic range approaching 150dB—the difference between a single molecule of sound and standing beside a roaring jet engine—it achieves a level of sonic blackness almost no other design on Earth can touch. Transients explode with lightning speed, and its bandwidth stretches beyond 500kHz for limitless openness and realism. High-speed, zero-feedback Diamond buffers preserve every musical nuance, while a revolutionary film-capacitor power supply unleashes dynamics with astonishing grace. This is not refinement. This is reinvention. The PMG Signature is pure musical authority.
Application
The preamplifier is the heart of any high-end system. Every note, every breath, every bit of music from your sources—DACs, phono stages, CD players—passes through it before reaching your power amp. It’s the final gatekeeper, and it better be right. The Paul McGowan Signature Preamplifier is the first product in 50 years to carry my name, and for good reason. It delivers complete control, ultra-low distortion, and total isolation between sources and amplification. With five identical balanced and single-ended inputs, all signals are converted to fully balanced and passed through our zero-feedback Class A Diamond buffers. Nothing is added, nothing taken away. This is where the magic happens.
Technology
Overview
The Paul McGowan Signature Preamplifier is a statement of what’s possible when nothing is held back. Designed by Darren Myers and carrying the name of our founder for the first time in 50 years, this is the culmination of a lifetime of innovation. Fully balanced from input to output, every stage features zero-feedback Diamond buffers for unmatched speed, transparency, and control. A high-resolution stepped attenuator ensures precise volume with 1/10th dB channel accuracy, revealing microdynamics with lifelike precision.
At its heart is a revolutionary power supply that eliminates traditional electrolytic capacitors, replacing them with long-life, sonically superior film capacitors. The result is lightning-fast transient response, deeper silence, and greater dynamic swing. Housed in a double chassis construction that shields against noise and interference, the PMG Signature achieves a noise floor of -145dB—so quiet it’s not there.
What you hear is exactly what was recorded—nothing added, nothing taken away. No glare, no grain, no veil. Just the music, uncolored and alive. The PMG Signature is the finest preamplifier we have ever built.
Revolutionary New Gain Stage
At the heart of the Paul McGowan Signature Preamplifier lies a completely reimagined gain stage—one that defines its unmatched sonic purity. This is where the real magic happens, where the fragile musical signal is amplified without the slightest trace of coloration. The design blends the best of both FET and BJT technologies, combining the finesse and linearity of FETs with the dynamic control and drive of BJTs. Fully complementary from input to output, the gain stage maintains perfect symmetry and balance, operating in pure Class A, direct-coupled and servo-controlled for absolute signal integrity.
What sets this stage apart is its innovative take on the folded cascode topology. Traditional cascodes use stacked transistors to improve gain and bandwidth, but the folded version “bends” the signal path, allowing high voltage swing, low noise, and wide bandwidth without the instability or harshness of conventional designs. Our version pushes this even further, lowering output impedance, increasing linearity, and preserving every nuance of the source.
The result is pure and perfect amplification—no filters, no coloration, just an open window into the soul of the music.
The Power Supply
Everything we hear in our systems—every note, every whisper, every explosive crescendo—starts life as raw DC power. That power is then modulated by the circuitry into music. Which means, at its core, what we’re actually listening to is the quality of the power supply. Get that wrong, and nothing else matters.
Most high-end preamplifiers rely on electrolytic capacitors to store and deliver that energy. But electrolytics come with baggage: high equivalent series resistance, limited lifespan, increased distortion under load, and poor high-frequency performance due to internal inductance. They dissipate energy inefficiently and smear transients. In short, they dull the edge of realism.
The Paul McGowan Signature Preamplifier throws all that out the window. Using an elegant system of analog level multiplication and dozens of large, hand-selected film capacitors—components known for their speed, ultra-low loss, and near-eternal lifespan—we’ve eliminated the noise, grain, and sluggishness that plagues even the best conventional designs.
The result is a supply so clean, so responsive, it disappears. What’s left is music with effortless dynamics, stunning clarity, and a sense of magic few have ever heard. This is power reborn.
Features
- Class a balanced analog output stage
- Stepped attenuator for level control
- Film cap based power supply
- Hybrid design
- Balanced xlr output
- Balanced xlr inputs
- Folded cascode analog design
- Darren Myer’s design
- High-current oversized analog power supply
- Among the world’s lowest distortion and noise
- No capacitors in output signal path
- Fully complementary differential design
- The best preamplifier in 50 years
Videos
Key to PMG Preamplifier Performance
Reviews
HIFI Statement – Roland Dietl,
Since I was only able to listen to pianist and orchestra live recently, I particularly appreciate the timbre fidelity and accuracy of the PMG preamplifier here.
Karl Sigman – Audiophilia,
A wonderful intimacy and presence of vocals and instruments were evident in the overall presentation, and a clean and pure sound was the norm. The bass presentation was at a new high as well, full-bodied, tight, and with superb clarity.
Future Audiophile,
It is uber-transparent, letting me hear deeply into every track I played through my system. It’s also extremely quiet, letting me hear fantastic detail and dynamics, even at very low volume levels.
Product Specifications
Physical
Unit Weight
30 lbs (13.6 kg)
Unit Dimensions
14.75 × 17.5 × 4.38 in (375 × 445 × 112 mm), including feet
Shipping Weight
34 lbs (15.4 kg)
Shipping Dimensions
20.5 × 24 × 10 in (521 × 610 × 254 mm)
Power Requirements
Input Power
Auto Voltage, 120VAC or 230VAC, 50/60Hz
Power Consumption
18W
Connectivity
Audio Inputs
2 × RCA (Single-Ended)
4 × XLR (Balanced)
Audio Outputs
2 × RCA (Single-Ended)
2 × XLR (Balanced)
Trigger Outputs
2
USB Port
For firmware updates only
Performance
Maximum Gain
12.6 dB
Frequency Response
15Hz – 150kHz (±0.1dB)
Bandwidth
5Hz – 500kHz (-3dB)
Input Impedance
50kΩ (RCA)
100kΩ (XLR)
Output Impedance
100Ω
Output Level
9Vrms (Single-Ended)
18Vrms (Balanced) @ 1% THD+N
THD
<0.0002% @ 1kHz, 1Vrms input
THD+N
<0.0003% @ 1kHz, 1Vrms input
IMD
0.0005% @ 1Vrms input (CCIF, 20kHz mean, 1kHz difference)
Crosstalk
-135dB (one channel driven)
Documents / Links
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