Has anyone compared Rogue RP-7 to Cary SLP05 and / or Audio Research Ref 5se?

The sweetest preamp is the SLP-98. A top performer but has buckets of sweet tube sound without a hint of being over the top.

Audio Research is an iconic brand and has a legion of fans that has been earned over the course of time. You certainly could not go wrong with the REF 5SE. I will note that many consider the Cary SLP-05 to be a true classic tube line stage for all of the right reasons. I suspect given what you are seeking you’d be exceptionally happy with it. In your stated scenario if would be my choice.

Charle

Hi testrun,

I owned the RP-7 and currently own the SLP-05.  

I usually love rogue audio products having owned the cronus magnum ii, RH-5 linestage / headphone amp and stereo 100 power amp.  

unfortunately the RP-7 was a disappointment from the start.  i was good but not great and I actually liked the sound of the RH-5 linestage better, momre neutral and dynamic.  

the RP-7 sounded less dynamic and more rolled off and no matter what I did I could not get the sound to open up to where it was worth the investment icluding trying all sorts of the best NOS tube swaps that i had on hand. 

the SLP-05 was instantly a big, bold dynamic sounding unit and improved even more with a NOS rectifier and some NOS sylvania 6SN7 tubes. Smooth ad transparent the SLP-05 is a big winner and I love the sound.  

Never heard the audio research.