Audio Research Reference 5 SE Preamplifier

Brian Damkroger has posted a review of the Audio Research Reference 5 SE preamplifier ($12,995) at Stereophile. His conclusions:

“Summing up my experience of Audio Research’s Reference 5 SE preamplifier is pretty easy: I was smitten. I hear a lot of great audio gear, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been so taken with a component. I can’t imagine anyone hearing the Ref 5 SE and not falling head over heels for it. It’s been a long time, too, since I’ve heard a component that seemed to be so fundamental and significant an advance over all others I’ve heard. It’s true that I haven’t heard the latest models from Ayre Acoustics, Simaudio, Sutherland Engineering, and VTL. And $12,995 is a lot of money—but not for a component this good and this well built, and not for one that Audio Research stands behind. There are a lot more expensive preamps out there today, but I’m not sure that any amount of money will buy better performance than the Reference 5 SE’s. One thing I am sure of: Like its illustrious predecessors, the Ref 5 SE is a component I’ll wish I’d held on to—assuming I ever let go of it. The Reference 5 SE gets my highest recommendation.”

You can read the full review here.