Preamp: Parasound P5 vs Rotel RC1590

Not heard the Cambridge 851E but have the 851A which is a fabulous piece - both Sonics and built quality. I have heard the Parasound and I’d say comparing to the 851A integrated going against Parasound A23 and P5 which I am familiar with I’d lean heavily towards the Cambridge. The P5 is fine preamp for the money if you need built in DAC and phono but you’re paying for those features and they’re decent but you can do much better. I own a 851C with both fuses changed out and it’s a killer; was really good before but the fuses refined it to another level - power cord upgrade makes a nice improvement too. If you can drag a 851E home first to demo do it. Not heard the Rotel but I’ve always felt they make very good components so I’m sure it’s very good but if you don’t need the DAC and phono preamp again I’d lean towards the Cambridge. You can buy a much better affordable DAC and phono preamp from say Schiit Audio or others. I once did own a 840A and it was a killer unit that embarrassed a lot of stuff I’d drag home. The Cambridge 800 series is hard to beat for the money but it does come down to your taste and how it plays with your other gear. Drag home demos or buy used so if you don’t like it resale and likely get all your money back. Good luck.

@adg101 Thanks a lot for the help ! Unfortunately, there is no possibility for home demoing 851E :( Asked cambridge audio about differences in pre section of 851E and 851A. They replied saying that 851E is no longer available due to lack of demand in the product. In Poland I see that item in stock only in 2 stores and not in my city.

I also started looking into some alternative options. http://www.analog-precision.com/UPXO.html

For what it is worth, I just bought the P5 and I am planning on sending it back, regardless of what Parasound may say you are paying for the DAC, and I had no luck with the Sub-woofer portion of the PreAmp. It just made a booming sound out of my Boston Acoustics Sub.  Consequently I paid for two features I do not need or do not like.  I have a stand alone DAC, and base heavy speakers in a A+B set up off of a McIntosh 2125 amp.  I am using a NAD old school preamp, which I can not find anything which sounds any better.  The P5 is a beautiful looking piece of gear.

@chuckhoness5343a1 Ouch, that sounds pretty bad. I was actually quite excited about the sub feature.
About DAC, I am not that excited for it. I think I will go for a DAC that have selectable filters. However, if I go for Rotel RC-1590, then I think I can be fine with it's internal DAC.

Amp will hopefully arrive tomorrow or the day after, and I will take Rotel RC-1590 for demo the same day if I can. And see how it sounds.

I’ve got the P5 and the sub integration is flawless.  The separate crossovers for sub and speakers is elegant and really cleans up the sound when compared to a unit with no sub integration.  I’m not sure what issue the other poster had, but the sub features are quite good.

Also, the  volume by remote gives increases in small increments and is a big improvement over the Nad C375BEE it replaced.  The P5 also trounced the Nad in sonics and features.  With an Adcom amp and good cables i’m seriously taken with the P5.  

Get the Rotel as it’s what you want, but the P5 really stands out in the American market at the 1100 price.  I had the P7 and I hesitate to say that the P5 images better, but I will say I prefer it over the P7.