Audiophilepure

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1846-meitner-audio-pre-preamplifier

My final listening session was the most intense. I recently heard the Danish Quartet playing in Toronto’s Koerner Hall, an exceptional venue in both architecture and acoustics, so I have a good idea of the quartet’s live sound. Fortunately, the Danish Quartet records for ECM, which maintains high recording standards and serves the quartet admirably. This was particularly evident on the five-album Prism series, which features, among other works, Beethoven’s String Quartets Nos. 12–16 (the “late quartets”). I listened to the Adagio and Allegro from Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, op. 131 (24/96 FLAC, ECM Records / Qobuz). While the EMM Labs PRE2 exhibited magnificent power against a black background in this recording, the Meitner PRE was more detailed and more relaxed. The EMM Labs DV2 DAC’s variable output, feeding the amp directly, combined the best parts of the two presentations and proved to be the clear winner, if only by a nose.

What about the EMM Labs PRE?

At the time of this audition, I didn’t have the EMM Labs PRE, Ed Meitner’s statement analog preamp, on hand. But I do have my listening notes from a couple of years ago. At that time I compared the EMM Labs PRE to the EMM Labs DV2 DAC with a direct connection to the amp. My preference was for the latter: aside from not needing analog inputs, I preferred its sound—it was a touch more resolved in the deep bass—and felt it threw a more spacious image. This setup also saves a pair of interconnects and a power cord for the separate preamp and takes up less space in the rack. Quite possibly, the small differences I detected might have disappeared had I used Nordost’s top-of-the-line Odin 2 interconnects and power cable to feed the EMM Labs PRE instead of the Valhalla 2 cables

The RP-5 v2 required a fairly long break-in period before it sounded its best. So please be patient with it. I do wish the upgraded remote was the included remote but the one that comes with it worked fine and is probably pretty reliable. I wanted to hang on to the review unit to toss around the idea of purchasing it, but Rogue has asked me to return it so they can upgrade the firmware as this was a very early production unit. This should resolve an issue where the display would freeze and the only way to fix it was through a power reset.

This preamplifier may not be for everyone, but its build quality and musical prowess make it a must- audition for anybody in the market for a new preamplifier. I may very well request one for purchase in the coming weeks. Either way, I will always remember this as a fun and fluidly musical component that is highly flexible with its myriad hook-up options, phono stage, and headphone amp.