Silent, reliable, clean sounding, built like a tank.

Looks are stright out of the 70's- fine imitation wood end panels are the ultimate touch!

I've been through a series of interesting preamps in the past couple years, looking for a great phono section at an affordable price. The Onkyo is a nice unit- It sounds VERY GOOD ON VINYL- sweet and smooth. It is very quiet, controls are very flexible and function well and the sound is clean and has very little coloration. It's maybe a bit weak in the area of preserving dynamics and contrast- there have to be design tradeoffs somewhere. The electronics and controls are built beautifully and fine quality components used throughout.

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B&K MC-10 Sonata, Sumo 'Athena', Forte Model 2

Quaility of Workmanship, not too many "Bells & Whistles"

No Remote

well...I sure am glad I have friends in Hi-Fi Shops...as, I got this Pre-amp (albeit used...) for free!!....I am familiar with NAD Pre-Amps and I really do love them!!....This Onkyo Pre-amp has been a joy to own. works and sounds great!! the only problem I've ever had is a "cold" solder joint...which was fixed in no time...I do need to upgrade my interconnects and am looking and testing some out....any recc's??? if this Pre-Amp had a remote...it would be a classic!!

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NAD Pre-Amp

In the price range this pre competes in, nothing even comes close. Although it might seem a bit plain, the real kicker is a variable loudness/low bass control that works with a center point of around 60 hz. This works great with older recordings that are weak on the bottom end, or just bumping the bass for fun. Like most medium-priced Onkyo products, it presents a great musical value, with a very linear volume control and just great sound. I use it to drive a Carver TFM-15b pushing a pair of JBL 4311's. Five star for the value.

Many

few

I found many of the previous reviews confusing, so I will confuse you more. This pre is DEAD QUIET. It is clearer and more detailed than I remember my old carver being. This pre has excellent specs and performs to them. I purchased it as a cheap interim solution. After using it for some months now, I have shelved my plans to purchase another pre as this one does such an excellent job.

Bass is powerful, leaves nothing to be desired. flat full range frequency response. Again...DEAD QUIET. Rather neutral, but great defeatable tone controls. Balance control.

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carver c-7

Simple, clean, and Sound, Sound, Sound

no remote, side wood-looking thing

I purchased an Accuphase P-200 to replace this amp. After compared them, I dropped the Accu.
Onkyo P-304 has richer and clearer sound. This preamp produces really good sound, and cheap. It does not have handsome face or other functions which these days' preamp have. However, it is sound oriented. So, if your budget is less than $500, but still want good sound, TRY THIS ONE.
one tip. I found Tape 1(DAT) input sounds much better than CD input. So, connect your CDplayer to tape1. If Harman Kardon and Accu are given 4 stars, this preamp deserves 5.

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HK PT-2500, Accuphase P-200, several Marantzs

For someone looking for a pre amp that is entry level affordable but yet still focused toward higher fidelity this pre amp is excellent (for an under $600 pre amp). It lacks all the creature comforts of a receiver like remote control and a tuner but, it is very flexable like two tape monitors with selectable rec out a very clean circuitboard, very well constructed (weighs over 19lbs)it antennuates very well with a smooth shift in volume, and very passive with little colouration in the sound. To top it all off it has six inputs with a phono that has selectable mm or mc cartridges, stereo or mono modes and gold plated connections for cd and phono as well as output.Needless to say if you want to explore seperates this is a great starting point because we all know that the amp and speakers really make the system ( just don't skimp on the cables they are as important as the source)If you do move up to a better pre amp it can make an excellent three zone multi source pre amp ( using the main output and the two tape outputs).

Solid build, idiot proof.

no remote(obviously)

I've got this baby hooked to a Carver TFM-CB15, and it sounds Alright. Let's put it this way, I can choose this setup and my Sony all-in-one with the same speakers and I prefer the Sony for everything. It is a cheap amp, and doesn't have near the volume ability without distorting, but it is good enough and it sounds very pretty.. The Carver setup is warm, and fills the room, but just doesn't have that sharp, crisp sound. I like Onkyo products for their attention to build quality, something a lot of the overseas products are missing. Sony ES has a fine metal finish in the front, but the rest of the casing is sheet metal like the casing you'd get from a second rate product.
Anyhow, I can only recommend it for its solidity, because I'm sure there are better sounding pre-amps available.

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none