Difference between First Sound Presence and Hotrod

Guys, call Emmanuel Go directly. He'll happily answer your question without any pressure to buy a First Sound. Then please report back to the rest of us.

Will do TVAD. I will try to buzz Emmanuel tomorrow. By the way, I'd like to hear more about your impressions of First Sound, as you appear to own one of these units.
Have you listened to several levels of the First Sound pre? What were the sonic differences among them?

I have only heard the Presence Deluxe II. I can't imagine anything in the First Sound line sounding better, so considering such units exist, they must be simply amazing.

I agree.

Just spoke to Emmanuel. First of all, there is no price difference between the standard products and the hotrod versions. This is because internally both the standard versions and the hotrod versions are essentially identical. That is all parts are installed, regardless of the version. In hotrod products though only a single input and two outputs are available.
Furthermore, the input selector, tape loop, and mute button circuitry is bypassed and disconnected.
This means that if a customer later decides to convert a hotrodded device to standard configuration, this can be performed at minimal cost. This also makes the resale of hotrodded devices much easier.
Emmanuel said that the convenience of extra inputs, selectors, mute, etc. . . are tradeoffs agains musical purity. The sound of hotrod devices is in his opinion slightly superior to standard configuration First Sound preamps.