Parasound P5

To further add to the mix, Wyred 4 Sound released a stereo pre with DAC earlier this year. I just found out about it and it retails for 1099. Also Peachtree now has one, though it's more limited in connectivity and is a hybrid tube variety, for 1120. Neither of these have a phono section however.

Runnin is correct regarding the update on the P-5. Spoke to Richard Schram last Thursday and the retail price is firmly set at $950.00 and will start shipping the first week of September. John Curl was not involved with the P-5 or its phono stage.

Sweet, that's good news. It's a great package of features and everything I'm looking for to go with my Halo A21. Should be mine by Christmas.

Good news, the Parasound P5 is up on the Parasound site. Apparently it can be pre-ordered, and it comes in black too.

It is too bad the P-5 has been scaled back from the original prototype from last winter. When the price was originally set at $1500.00, the unit weighed 23 pounds and the current final version weighs 14 pounds. Since 1992 I have owned three Parasound Preamps, the P-FET 900 MKII, the PLD-2000, and the P-3. I recently heard a Preamp from Onkyo that smokes the Parasound Pre's, the Onkyo P-3000R which retails for $1695.00 and can be purchased at a lower price. The Onkyo is superior to the Musical Fidelity and Pass Preamps that I have owned in the past. The Onkyo weighs just under 25 pounds and is sexy as hell with its satin black finish. It comes with a MM phono stage, has a built in Burr-Brown DAC with USB or XLR input. Has bass and treble controls and a headphone jack. I heard the piece just over a week ago and my jaw dropped from the sound quality. Very pure, ultra clean clarity with a dimensional holographic space typically found in very high priced Preamps. Very smooth with a pleasant warm character.