Anyone hear the RP-9 yet?
Rogue RP-7 vs. New RP-9 - What's the Difference?
I just got an RP-7 recently and I went to their site to look up the manual as I was setting it up and I see they now have an upgraded RP-9 model with different tubes (Russian 6H30P vs 12AU7 in the 7). I can't seem to make out any other differences.
I thought this might warrant a discussion from those who know more than I do. Thoughts?
I thought this might warrant a discussion from those who know more than I do. Thoughts?
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- 15 posts total
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. |
Here's a pic of the RP-9 in my system back when I had Apollo amps. It did look really pretty like this! Ironically, the Apollos have so damn much gain (way lots of gain), and the Tannoys are so highly sensitive, the RP-9 might actually match better to the lower-gain VAC 200iQ amps. https://i.imgur.com/rVQj8NM.jpg |
- 15 posts total