"Music Reproduced Accurately and Beautifully"
Silky smooth and extraordinarily high tech, Rogue Audio's RP-5 hybrid tube preamplifier sets a new benchmark in performance. This is Rogue's first preamp based on its RP-X platform, a proprietary combination of hardware and software that allows the company to bring enhanced functionality to its designs.
Highlights include Rogue Audio's well-known four-tube mu-follower design plus an integral MM/MC phono stage, allowing you to connect the RP-5 directly to your power amp without the need of an outboard phono preamp.
Also onboard are a tube/solid state headphone amp, home theater inputs, a processor loop, and a mono switch. The included ten-button remote conveniently accesses volume, balance, selector, mute, and other settings.
"What High End is All About"
"With a nod to the past and footers firmly planted in the now, the RP-5 is a component that should tempt a lot of people to go Rogue," notes Neil Gader in The Absolute Sound magazine, which awarded the RP-5 its coveted Editors' Choice Award. "A reasonably priced, high-performance preamp like the RP-5 is a prime example of what the high end is all about – music reproduced accurately and beautifully."
"Rogue Audio's RP-5 surprised me. It did not have the fat, warm sound associated with vacuum tubes," reports Erich Wetzel at soundstagenetwork.com. "It exhibited no strong sonic signature of its own, which impressed me from the outset. I found it a fundamentally neutral and wonderfully musical preamplifier that would easily be at home in an all-tube system, or one in which it's mated to solid-state gear."
"A Real Class Leader Here"
"A tremendous value. The field in that price range is rather crowded for tubed components, but we believe Rogue has a real class leader here," reports Andre Marc, audiokeyreviews.com, August 2, 2023.
"The sonics are outstanding and the build is off the charts good. What sets the RP-5 apart is the coupling of great sound with a treasure trove of features. A phono input, dual variable outputs, fixed outputs, an excellent headphone amp, a crystal clear LED display, balance control, a mono switch, and remote control make this a 'full service' preamplifier in our book."
The Best of 'Old School' Design Meets State-of-the-Art
The RP-5 is the perfect mix of the very best old-school design and state-of-the-art technology. On the old-school side, four 12AU7 tubes in a mu-follower configuration use a high-gain, low-output impedance inverting stage with low noise and very low distortion. For state-of-the-art performance, the tube circuitry is computer-optimized and microprocessor controlled for extreme accuracy, ultra-quiet operation, and long-term reliability.
The result is an exquisite piece of hi-fi gear that brings you the very best aspects of vacuum tube and solid state components. You get the special warmth and almost indescribable true-to-life vividness of all-tube stereo gear along with the punch, response, and reliability of solid state stereo gear.
The large and entirely linear power supply contributes to the accuracy and beauty. For the best possible sound quality, there are no op-amps in its signal path.
Friendly User Interface
The user interface is as well thought out as the RP-5's sonic excellence. The bright front-panel VFD display provides volume, balance, and source info in large, readable characters. The volume control is a stepped-attenuator with 60 steps in 1dB increments.
Adjusting balance over 66 steps is as easy as giving the knob a spin, but Rogue has also added a return button beneath the balance knob that when pushed will automatically rebalance the two channels. This is a fabulous idea which is seldom seen in preamps.
A slow start feature allows the tubes to warm up gradually to eliminate turn-on noise and greatly extend tube life. It also offers automatic muting when powering on or off.
Built-in MM/ MC Phono Preamp
The RP-5 does all of your source equipment proud – especially your turntable, thanks to its capable and versatile built-in phono stage that accommodates both MM moving magnet and MC moving coil phono cartridges. It features user adjustable gain settings ranging from 40 to 60 dB.
A wide variety of loading options are also available, making it easy to precisely configure a favorite cartridge for optimum performance. These include 30 ohms, 50 ohms, 75 ohms, 100 ohms, 230 ohms, 300 ohms, 1 K ohm and the factory setting of 47 K ohms.
You can adjust phono stage settings to precisely match your cartridge by configuring the small blue DIP switches on the circuit board. See the manual for instructions. The until comes from the factory adjusted for a standard moving magnet cartridge, so you probably don’t have to make any adjustments unless you are using a moving coil cartridge.
RIAA equalization is within 0.1 DB, allowing you to experience your favorite vinyl recordings exactly as the artist – and the engineer – originally intended you to hear them.
Built-In Hybrid Headphone Amp
Not only does the RP-5 work beautifully with amplifiers and speakers, but you will love it for private listening sessions, too. Its built-in headphone amplifier is a tube/solid-state hybrid design capable of powering higher-impedance headphones. Audiophile reviewers have remarked that the RP-5's headphone stage sounds as good or better than esoteric stand-alone headphone amps costing much more than this preamp.
Connections Are Everything
The RP-5 provides plenty of connections for your AV system. These include five pairs of inputs (Line 1-4 + Phono, or Line 1-5), two pairs of variable outputs, one pair of fixed outputs, a processor loop, and home theater bypass/unit gain inputs. All connections use heavy duty gold plated RCA jacks.
Designed and Built in the USA
The RP-5 is entirely designed and hand built in the USA. Each unit is individually fully tested, burned-in, and auditioned, assuring you of great sound right out of the box. It comes with a three-year manufacturer's limited warranty from Rogue Audio (six months on the tubes). A high quality detachable IEC AC power cord is included, providing an easy upgrade path should you decided to later upgrade to an ultra high-end AC cable.
The handsome machined aluminum faceplate is available in either black or silver to complement the rest of your components.
"You Got Yourself One Amazing Preamplifier"
"Although I have heard nearly all the Rogue preamps, the RP-5 quickly became one of my favorites," raves John Gatski at Everything Audio Network. "In fact, because of its smooth transparency, I began to rely on it for all kinds of reference listening. It is that good. If you just consider the audiophile caliber of the line stage, the Rogue is a stellar performer and a good value. But if you throw in the separate's-quality phono and HP circuits, you got yourself one amazing preamplifier."
With its accessible price point, generous warranty, and amazing overall performance the Rogue Audio's RP-5 Preamplifier is simply irresistible.
