https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1201-chord-electronics-ultima-pre-3-preamplifier

The aluminum casework and machining is of superb quality and looks deeply impressive in any system without being overtly ostentatious. This looks like serious kit that means business—because it is. The Ultima Pre 3 is highly resolving, possesses excellent timing, and conveys the dynamics and timbre of instruments superbly. These are the first Chord amplifiers I have heard that touch my soul when listening to music, in the way that my resident Naim amplifiers do. Would I defect after 35 years as a Naim user? Well, let’s just say I’m very curious to hear the new Naim 200/300 series, samples of which I’m expecting to receive for review shortly. My only reservation is that the Ultima Pre 3 does seem to have rather low output. With my relatively inefficient speakers in my 33′ long listening room, there wasn’t very much in reserve when I wanted to achieve party levels. For people with similarly power-hungry speakers in large rooms, the more powerful Ultima 5 power amplifier is another option 

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1201-chord-electronics-ultima-pre-3-preamplifier

On the Shostakovich piano concerto, the all-Chord combination delivered a beautifully rich piano tone that conveyed the power and gravitas of the magnificent concert grand. Again, the pianist’s technique of playing with light and shade was amply revealed. The whole performance was very moving, due to the system’s ability to resolve fine details. There was still a lack of sparkle on the highest notes compared to sitting on a piano stool at the keyboard of a Steinway, but that would be the case with any preamp / power amp pair; most likely, it’s due to limitations of the recording. Ornamental trills were superbly delineated, and the Chord setup ranged the accompanying orchestra across a large soundstage with impressive acuity.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/mytek-digital-brooklyn-bridge-ii-roon-core-preamplifier

For a modern audiophile comfortable in the streaming world, the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II Roon Core can serve as the heart of a very capable music-listening system, now and for years hence. If physical media completely disappear, the BBII owner will be fine with a Roon subscription, some music-streaming subscriptions, and/or a large collection of music files.

The BBII has a fine-sounding DAC, tending transparent but perhaps a bit thin compared to the very best, including the much more expensive dCS Bartók (which may be less neutral-sounding than the BBII). The BBII is among the best I’ve heard in its price range, and it includes almost every digital-connection option—everything but I²S and HDMI.

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/gold-note-ph-5-phono-preamp

Just as it is a golden age for vinyl reissues, the current hi-fi customer has a wide array of fine-sounding equipment to hear at every conceivable price point. At the attractive and memorable price of $999, the Gold Note PH-5 phono preamp deserves serious attention. It produced a coherent, controlled, natural, highly resolving sound that was free of ear-jabbing frequency peaks, yet was dynamic and tonally succinct. Its consummate transparency and well-balanced, well-ordered overall sound made it a perfect fit for all types of music, as well as various types and levels of equipment. Italy may be hot as blazes at this moment in the height of summer here in 2023, but the PH-5 is a cool customer with a natural, music-loving sound. In short, the Gold Note PH-5 looks to be quite the golden choice for your next phono preamp.

With the XP-12 governing preamplifier duties, the soundstage, detail, depth, and vividly viscerally of HD movies, shows and music videos are an ongoing source of pleasure and amazement for us at home. Be it the creaks of timbers straining, then snapping—followed by a thunderous building collapse, the engine whine and screeching tires of James Bond’s Aston Martin, or Andrea Bocelli’s bewitching baritone tenor in “Perfect Symphony,” it’s a sensory treat that keep us glued to our couch way past bedtime. 

https://www.hifinews.com/content/primaluna-evo-100-tube-phono-preamplifier

Let’s get one thing clear from the outset. With the exception of (London) Decca cartridges, which are out there in their own space, the EVO 100 Tube Phono excels with moving-coils, as these are more simpatico with the overall nature of the unit. That said, if you find it too warm, moving-magnets from Ortofon and others add a touch of coolness or even restraint.

Having ascertained that the Ortofon MMs – three different colours of 2M – were sounding of their best and even benefitting from the very tubes that they corralled, I moved onto MCs, including an aged Tsurugi (which sired Lyra), the EAT Jo No8 [HFN Dec ’19], and the reborn Kiseki [HFN Jul ’18]. It was here that I began to appreciate the phono stage’s two-pronged approach of matching gain and impedance. To my delight, none of the settings were best at the manufacturers’ recommended values, the EVO 100 reinforcing my belief that you need to set your cartridges by ear.