Rogue RP-7 vs. New RP-9 - What's the Difference?

Talked to Mark the owner of Rogue Audio. He said the RP-9 is build for the Russian 6H30P tubes with some different, more expensive parts. He did not quantify the improvement over RP-7. You could upgrade RP-7 to RP-9 for about $3K (with a different circuit board etc.). The real questions for me are (1) how much improvement over RP-7 and (2) how it compares with other pre-amps of similar prices (say $7K-10K). In my experience, may not be worthwhile to upgrade (e.g., I upgraded Schiit Yggy DAC to Analog 2 - but sold it at a loss when I compared the upgraded DAC to Metrum Adagio - the latter is much better).

Anyone hear the RP-9 yet?

Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?

Bump

I’ve had an RP-9, and posted some thoughts before. It’s gone up against the ARC Ref 6 and Renaissance V here - both cost a good bit more (a full 2x more in the case of the Ref 6) - so I’m definitely not putting it up against cupcakes. The Ref 6 has simply been perfectly voiced for my system for most of the past 2 years, and is extremely hard to knock off its roost. I’ve used that Ref 6 so much, its signature must be ingrained in my head - over 2,020 hours on its tube counter from me (and I mostly only listen to the main system on weekends)!

The RP-9 is extremely detailed and dynamic with awesome bass, in some ways exceeding the Ref 6 in these aspects. But its top-end is a little less relaxed than the Ref 6, which is a main reason why the Ref 6 went back in. You’re definitely not going to get any extra tube warmth or "bloom" here. The Renaissance V has the sweetest midrange of all 3 (here’s your tube warmth and romance - it just sounds pretty!), but is less adrenaline-inducing than the other 2 for rock music. Rock & metal is probably my favorite genre. My overall preference has been Ref 6 over the RP-9 and Renaissance V by a little bit. Then I’d probably say the RP-9 by a hair overall, over the Ren V (because of the rock music thing).

I have new amps now (VAC 200iQ monos) so I’m due to give the RP-9 another crack at it. These new amps are awesome (yes they can rock); they had to be to replace my Apollo Dark monos. The Ren V already had its turn, and the Ref 6 won again despite the brand-match in favor of the VAC. To be fair my RP-9 isn’t even fully burned in yet. And after reading some cap threads, I wonder if its top-end energy is due to those Mundorf Evo Silver/Gold/Oil caps. It’s a great preamp though, and I feel guilty for not giving it more listening time. I plan to change that this weekend.

The UI on the RP-9 is good, but the Ref 6 feels a bit more refined. The RP-9 metal remote is sexy as hell, though.