Difference between First Sound Presence and Hotrod

Bemopti123, have you found any info about your original question? I am considering a First Sound pre and would opt for the hotrodded version if it yielded an even better sound than the standard multi-input version.

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?

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.