Parasound P5

I see the Onkyo also has upsampling and a pure direct button.

Very few preamps have this kind of functionality. The only ones I can think of at the moment are Accuphase and McIntosh, and those are much, much more.

Is the Onkyo a case of don't let the low price fool you?

The Onkyo has a lot going for it at its price that is unmatched anywhere on the market at this time and will easily hold its own against Preamp's in the $10K range. Its that good and is truely a best value component with its patented low distortion technology, and beefy power supply with two transformers. Hook it up to a pair of D-Sonic M3-600M mono amps,(Abletec Amps), 600 watts per channel at $1950.00 a pair, designed by the current leader of Class D technology in Europe, Patrik Bostrom, and you will have the best value combo on the market.

Audiozen,
Parasound JC2 and Jeff Rowland Capri fall in the $10k range. I have not heard any of the preamps discussed here. But I have reservations that the Onkyo is as good as those two - at least from online reviews.

I only stated the P-3000R can hold its own against Preamps in the $10K range. I have heard the JC2 and have owned the previous flagship Parasound, the PLD-2000. Parasound's Preamps designed by John Curl are too darn cold sounding in the upper frequencies for my taste. Parasound amps have always been better than their Preamps. There are marginal differences in the $3K to $10K range for a Preamp. You have to factor in the more exotic chassis designs with their milled solid block metals and far more expensive cover's, and higher quality connectors. But once you start soaring above $10K, then its a whole different ball game. I would not use an Onkyo amp with the P-3000R. A better quality amp would do it justice such as the Abletec from D-Sonic to bring out the best from the Onkyo.

Audiozen: Wow, it compares to 10k preamps? Nice! I believe I'll be looking in to actually getting one. I was thinking of getting a Pass Labs X350.5 amp, so do you think the Onkyo preamp would go good with the Pass Labs amp?