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

The Cary SLP05 is an extremely good preamp.My brother owned one.The mid model and above Suprateks [say Sauvignion 6SN7] are better however and about half the price.The Suprateks sound a bit similar but just a bit better in every area but especially more 3D.Which is not to say the Cary is not good in that area and is certainly a lot better than the vast majority of preamps.The Suprateks just have more of the more special!

Pull the trigger on an SLP-05.  Now what tubes do I need to roll? 

Congratulations @testrun.

Charles

Congratulations! Cary makes amazing products.

However. Stop. Get your unit… broken in…. a couple hundred hours. Then get to know it. Then read tube reviews and see if the description… is that the direction you want to take the sound?

Agree with ghdprentice.  Don't change the tubes yet.  Those stock EH 6SN7s are excellent tubes with the SLP-05.  Once you've determined what you think can be improved then you can make tube changes.