after reading a review on the Parasound P7 and many of the Stereophile Music in the Round articles, I wanted to upgrade the home theatre to an all analogue system from my Pioneer Elite receiver (circa 2002/3). The Pre5 multi-channel pre-amp definitely popped up in my search for something similar to the P7 but at a more affordable price point. I have matched this pre-amp with Parasound MCA-855 5 channel amp and use the analogue outputs from my Panasonic BD10A blu-ray player as the main source. For HDMI video switching, I found a Key Digital HDMI4x1 video processor and to maintain TV/Dolby Digital, picked up a Marantz DP870 Dolby Digital preamp in bypass mode for the Audio Refinement Pre5.

The sound improvements were so night and day that I was floored!! The biggest improvements beyond raw power was incredible clarity in the centre channel and a lot larger sound staging. Before my upgrade, I did audition a lot of higher end Receivers and listened to a few friend's home set ups. They really don't match the detail I get out of this set up now. One friend who came over immediately noticed the improved centre channel also.

Clear, ariticulate, full and lifelike sounding

turns volume down when put into standby

power/stanby button a bit weak.

front foot a bit odd looking - maybe should have 2 in the front and 1 in the back. its probably for good reason.

remote hard to find.

Awesome. Transparent, yet dynamic.

Works well in front of tubes.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston BP25
Rotel RA-01

NONE

Poor build quality
thin sounding

I have to say that I was very disappointed with the Audio Refinement Pre-5. I thought the build quilaity was horrible, very cheap. The volume and selector knobs seemed loose. The sound was less than stellar, I felt it was thin sounding.
I owned it for a week, and then sold it.

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Unico Research integrated amp
Juicy Music pre amp
Carver C-2 preamp
Sunfire TG3 processor

Cost, simplicity of circuit design, strong gain without distortion, awesome soundstage and imagery, exciting sound and invigorating detail. Love it's simplicity, and yes it goes without a digital face but it also darkens up the room, right?

No phono stage. No treble/bass controls. Wish remote had individual source buttons rather than just the arrows that you push to get to the correct source.

I'll try to keep this short. Oustanding preamp. Have been listening to it for three weeks now and it has been an absolute breath of fresh air. I had to downgrade my system from surround to two channel because of space. I use a parasound halo a51 to bi-amp NHT Evoluition T5 towers. I had an ultra-highclass processor that I had to sell on ebay, and the pre5, to be honest, shines. And I mean it shines. Instruments image, and images are solid across the soundstage with wonderful depth on music and movies. I spin lps - music hall mmf 5, top level goldring cart, with a cambridge audio 640p pre - and this thing is great for records, and because it's gain is so solid it's an excellent pre amp for quiet recordings and quiet on-line stuff (like Heroes at NBC.com). Detail, detail, detail, but the overall sound is not fatiguing. Powerful too: tall images, excellent bass, and outstanding mid and high clarity. No hash and no buzz and very quiet. On movies, like Howl's Moving Castle, when you're inside Howl's castle the detail and layer of sound is intoxicating. It would be great if it had a good phono stage, but come on. At this price? And I have the option to re-upgrade one day to 5.1 surround. Lastly, it's quite handsome and elegant, and the add-on remote is handy. This is an oustanding audiophile preamp for a budget price. I love it and will be depending on this one for a long time.

Great looks and build quality. Great sound.

Remote is an extra-cost option.

Other have covered the virtues of this pre-amp quite well, so I am mainly writing this review to answer some questions raised in the weaknesses section of the last review. 1. The pre-amp does have separate 5.1 and stereo outputs, but the stereo and front outs are the same, at least with a multi-channel source, so you can connect to either. I have not verified this for a stereo source, but at the very least you should be able to connect your fronts to the stereo outs and not have to swap any cables to go from stereo to multi-channel listening. 2. The pre-amp does have a relatively high gain, but I just turned down the input sensitivity of my power amp to compensate. You should do this anyway, as attenuating at the power amp is better than attenuating at the pre-amp (i.e., lowering the volume control): in the former case losses between the pre-amp and the power amp are less significant, as a larger signal is present.

Similar Products Used:

Nothing terribly similar, just a 12-year-old NAD 1000 stereo pre-amp.

all listed above

this preamp has separate outputs for 5.1 analog out and for 2 channel analog out. What happens if I want to run an analog 5.1 DVD setup in parallel with another 2 channel analog source, like a Cd/Tape player? I keep having to switch the interconnects going to my amp from one output to the other, and I think that's silly, the two circuits are totally separate, which is nice if you use a DVD/CD/SACD player as your only source, but otherwise?... anyone figure out a way out of this? Also the gain is very high on this preamp, thus small changes in the clock of the volume dial have significant volume alterations. I find this makes it more difficult to fine-tune the volume when I just want some music before bed, just nice and quiet and relaxing. Using the remote actually results in changes in volume that I find too great (maybe I need a less powerfull amp than the 125 wpc of the Multi-5 by AR). The overall sonic benefits of this pre make the above inconveniences barely noticeable.

Great preamp for the money, worth every penny. This preamp needs a good amp to show what it can do. Very musical sounding, perhaps not as silky smooth as a YBA/Nagra but smooth nevertheless, detailed, slightly forward presentation, crystal clear highs, non-fatiguing sound, handles all frequencies well - including LFE, just get full range speakers with good interconnects and speaker cables and a good source and you'll hear for yourself what this baby can do. This preamp has a VERY precise soundstage, the size/depth/height depends on what speakers you own and how you position/tweak them(electrostatics sound breath-taking with this preamp ... one word: NATURAL). Very AIRY, if such a word can describe it, and TRANSPARENT, especially with electrostatics (just get some that can go to 40Hz linearly) and you won't even know where they are in the room. To get the most out of it you have to tweak it a little. An aftermarket powercord improves bass control and brings the mids to life. It also sounds more natural. Ceramic feet will help control the noise floor (I will try putting it on a granite plate one day) but the stock feet will serve you well if placed on a rigid surface (wood/granite). Use good interconnects, this preamp will reflect the various qualities of your cables. It does not do well with Tara Labs cables, in fact it highlights their sloppy and overemphasized bass together with a somewhat dry midrange. I found Audioqest King Cobras work well but my Monster Sigma Retro Gold are better both in the highs as well as lows (very close here, the Cobras actually have very clean and fast bass and so are an excellent cable for the money). I've heard a lot of people saying that the separates sound better than the integrated amp in this series. Not to my knowledge, I own them both! Upgraded powercords on both to Audioquest NRG-3 as well as an upgrade to ceramic feet. Difference ... SPL levels for sure, less brightness at high levels with the separates, but sonically the same signature. Both are very musical. I recently heard that the YBA2 preamp sounds much better than this one even with the Multi-2 amp form this series. When I hear that setup I will post another review. For now I've gotten over the upgrade bug and am VERY happy. Never said anything about movies. Sorry. Absolutely knocks every receiver on the market off the block. Good soundstage depth (soooo important in movies, much more so than power), height, width, imaging is dead on, go audition one and hear for yourself. For this money I have never heard something that combines so many musical attributes with the flexibility of being able to enjoy full analog 5.1 channel playback as well as music through only 2 of those 5 channels. Go audition one.

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this little preamp has more detail than Bryston's BP25 and costs less than half the money, is far more musical than Krell's KAV series at more than 4 times the price, beats Rotel's pre/pro for musicality, sounds sweeter than any Arcam/Creek out there, will convince any Denon/Marantz/HK/Yamaha/Integra owner that you can get at least as much if not more for less money. Only pre/pro that I liked a lot as well and considered it a good deal for the money was Anthem's AVM 30, but at 4.5 times the price it has to offer some pretty nice options (full XLR multichannel inputs, video processing, 7.1 sound processing, 7 channel stereo, all in a very laid back presentation, very pleasing to the ear indeed but it also costs considerably more).

Well built, flexible inputs/outputs, excellent volume control with remote capability, low price, tube-like sound in a solid-state package.

None that I can find.t

Wow! What a wonderfully musical-sounding preamp this is! A few months ago I bought an SACD player on a whim to see what all the excitement was about, and was reasonably pleased with the sound of SACD on two-channel material (still not up to vinyl standard though IMO). One of the first SACDs I bought was Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and after reading about how good the multi-channel version was supposed to sound I decided to take the plunge and buy a multi-channel preamp. After doing some research I decided on the Audio Refinement Pre5 and bought a dealer demo without hearing it based on the few but very positive reviews I read online. My expectations were high and I'm happy to report that the Pre5 has performed MUCH better than I expected, in every respect. First, the unit is extremely well constructed, with a heavy-gauge aluminum chassis and faceplate, and black lacquer rear apron and bottom panel. The two large knobs on the front panel have a silky feel and finish, and the unit itself is just gorgeous (mine is finished in black with silver knobs). But of course the main thing is the sound, and I'm pleased to say that the Pre5 is supremely musical, with a warm, fast and sparking sound that is altogether iniviting and ingratiating. Prior to installing the Pre5 in my system, I had been using a Camelot Uther dac via its analog volume control, and as the old saying goes, "there's no preamp like no preamp." Very transparent, clean and clear sound. With the Pre5 inline I was amazed to find that there was no loss of detail (something I had always found to occur in the past with other preamps). I own five different tube amps and have have owned a couple of tube preamps in the past and was totally surprised by the tube-like sound of the solid-state Pre5. I'm not talking about tubby bass or a rolled off top end (both are myths perpetrated by those who have read about tube gear but never actually owned it); I'm talking about a vivid, harmonically-complex musical presentation with tight bass, sparkling highs, a fleshed-out midrange, great rhythm and pace and precise instrument timbres. So what about this unit's multi-channel performance? Well for me multi-channel was a bust, more hype than music, but the Pre5 should float your boat if that's what you're looking for. Personally I have been so surprised and pleased with its two-channel performance that I would have gladly paid the full retail price, and more, just for the improvement it has made in my stereo listening. Oh and by the way, did I mention the Pre5's remote control ability? The ease and convenience of being able to change inputs and control the volume from the listening postion is worth diamonds to me, and comes with no performance penalty (actually the 2-channel pre-outs are VERY SLIGHTLY cleaner-sounding than the multi-channel outs, but hey, if you're as fanatical as I am about audio you'll grab onto every little bit of performance you can get). In closing, I've heard some very pricey and highly-rated preamps in the past, but none has ever combined the Pre5's attributes of great construction, tube-like sound, remote control convenience and low price. Give it a listen, I think you'll like it.n

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Audible Illusions Mod 3A, Conrad Johnson PFR, ASL twinhead

Everything a pre-amp is meant to be with the icing being the transparency, clarity and richness of its sound.

Mine requires purchasing the remote seperatly which should be included in my opinon for the price.

Price paid was for a demo model. Excellent pre-amp. Had an Adcom 565 before and the difference was immediatly apparent when I hooked up the Pre-5. System presence increased ten-fold. Very warm and yet chalk full of crystalline highs. Bass clearly defined, going way down to what your system will allow and the midrange just right without being over apparent. Mine is black with silver knobs and looks absolutly georgious. I have a YBA player and an Odyssey Stratos power amp and the synergy with the Pre-5 is perfect. I am not one for home theater so most of the DVD 5.1 options on the back of the unit are not being used but I don't consider that a waste as the music this unit makes totally eliminates any further need for me to upgrade.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom, NAD, Dennon.

Good build quality and great sound for the price .$ 900.00 !!!!!!

none found so far.

Fantastic finish , and very smooth sounding . I was impressed with the 5.1 dvd inputs and outputs . I use this preamp with a marantz cd Ki and a bryston 3bst which drives PSB image speakers. The preamp automatically turns the volume down to zero when switched off !!! great safety feature ...

Similar Products Used:

Bryston integrated b60 , creek ,luxman

Very smooth and transparent sound to it.

None

First I had home theater just a phase I was going through. When I wanted to really hear my music the pre amp processor just cannot compare to the transparency of a pre-5 which is made to play music. As close to going to tube sound without the drawbacks you have with tubes. The sound from the pre-5 is so natural sounding which is the way music is suppose to sound.

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Pre-5, Adcom-750, Proceed