Maag Audio PreQ4 - 500 series Preamp - Demo/Open Box  From Maag

When we first decided to be a dealer for Maag, I was particularly interested in their preamp. They’re most well known for their EQ’s (the EQ2 and EQ4), which are both fantastic so I assumed this level of quality would be found in the preamp as well. We brought in a pair of the PreQ4’s to live in our studio, but before hearing them for myself, I had no clue what to expect. I’d read that it’s a very clean preamp, and it has a high frequency shelving EQ that can lift the top in nice ways, but sometimes “clean” can have just as many different definitions as “colored” does. 

Now that I’ve used these preamps in a variety of different settings, I’ve really grown fond of them. It’s a clean preamp, but with just a tiny bit more weight and excitement to it than a fully transformerless design like the Grace or Millennia. You still maintain a huge wealth of harmonic detail, but without losing the musicality of the instrument or voice. The High-frequency shelf (aka Air Band) is quite handy and can be beautifully subtle, but the real take home here is the sound of the preamp itself. Check out our videos about the preq4 to hear for yourself.

If you want a clean preamp, but fear the sterility that may come with absolute transparency, get a PreQ4 and don’t look back.