New PrimaLuna versus used Audio Research preamp?

You need to look in the box when you buy a preamp.  It's where manufacturers make margin, and bullshit abounds.  Go to a restaurant, and it's $9 for a burger and fries, and $3.50 for a Diet Coke.  Coke is water and syrup. 

Preamps are the Diet Coke of audio. Take a company that flags itself as the "Preamp Specialist"  Put aside the silly auto biasing tubes and new power supply designs, look at an internal picture of their $4500 preamp which, by the way, is a "Factory Direct" price.  

There are no magic boxes in preamps.  It's parts and engineering.  If they espouse the "minimalist design" B.S. then it should cost less, not more.  That's why someone may want to be a "preamp specialist". 

More like "margin specialist".  Just like headphones and earbuds.   

I wouldn't buy a preamp without using Google Images or that website hifi-inside.com  It used to be called HiFi-shock.com as I recall.  

@samzx12 Your preamp has the Holy Trinity of tube preamp design:  Point to point wiring. Dual Mono all the way to the power switch. Tube rectification.  

@big_greg.  Definitely agree most components lose a lot of value buying new. That's why I typically buy used.  

Kevin the build quality and many fantastic reviews is the main reason I bought the EVO 400. Plus the fact switching tubes I can tailor the sound to my liking which is very important to me. 

@bobbydd 

First, go and listen to each preamp. With what amp are you pairing it?

Second, what sound signature are you wanting? Warmth, dynamics, resolution, soundstage, clarity, richness, etc.

Third, in my experience with PL gear, including the evo preamps the OP listed, produce boring sound. It's neither tube-ish nor solid state. It doesn't have the warmth of say a VAC pre nor the dynamics of a VTL 6.5 (highly recommended) or the ARC 5se. The ARC does not have the warmth of a VAC either.

Fourth, though there are many Kevin Deal fanboys, there are as many who consider him less than a desirable salesman. There are plenty of good and bad service reviews of upscale. There are plenty of other dealers and products that service and sell their products without the uncertainty of Kevin/upscale. I would suggest looking at VAC, VTL, and Ayre (the latter, if you're willing to try solid state). These companies don't change models nearly as frequently as ARC. That said, the 5se is excellent and its resale value will continue to be excellent. PL does not boast such high resale value.

Finally, PL products do not, imo, alter their sound signature by tube rolling. Very few new tube products offer much benefit by tube rolling other than micro differences. If tube rolling is of interest, Decware's products experience notable changes.

Goodluck in your search.

Safebelayer I laughed at your post. You obviously have a beef with Kevin and Primaluna? I would ignore his opinions OP.  I've bought and sold tons of gear over the years and I can politely say Primaluna is very good especially at its price point and it's definitely not boring.  Rolling tubes does change the flavor of this preamp. To many people will agree. 

A friend and I compared the Primaluna to the ARC LS-28 at a store last week. The LS-28 was better. The Ref 5SE is supposed to be better than the LS-28.