In the world of hi-fi, there’s “high end,” and then there’s Goldmund. Since 1978, the Swiss manufacturer has produced exquisitely designed, astonishingly high-performance and staggeringly expensive audio equipment. As it nears half a century of proudly uncompromised engineering, its determination to position its products as credible alternatives to jewellery, art, or other pricey indulgences for the superrich shows no sign of abating—quite the opposite.

I was recently invited to Goldmund's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to experience the new Mimesis Statement, the company’s flagship analog preamplifier.…