Rogue Audio RP-5 v2 Preamplifier

Every Cartridge You Might Ever Own

Rogue Audio hand-builds the RP-5 v2. It has a specialty: vinyl. The phono stage comes straight from the Triton II, Rogue's own standalone phono preamp. Your turntable gets a front end built for the job, not a jack tacked on at the end.

Four gain settings do the real work. Use 43dB for a high-output moving magnet of 4mV and up. Use 48dB for a high-output moving coil, 55dB for a medium-output one, and 65dB for a low-output coil below 0.6mV. Whatever you mount next, there is a setting for it.

Loading is yours to set as well. Eight values run from 30 ohms to 47k, and you can tune capacitance too. So you match the cartridge to your arm and your room. Most preamps offer one fixed setting. Rogue ships this one at 48dB and 47k, ready for most high-output cartridges.

What the v2 Revision Changed

Rogue took what the RP-7, RP-9 and RH-5 taught them and passed it down. The volume control now moves in 0.5dB steps over a lower noise floor. Small changes land where you want them at low levels, instead of jumping past the sweet spot.

The headphone circuit inherited RH-5 technology. The phono stage is quieter than before, with more gain. Four 12AU7/ECC802 tubes run in Rogue's mu-follower circuit, and the OLED display can be switched off for dark-room listening.

On the bench, frequency response runs 5Hz to 100kHz within 1dB. THD stays below 0.1%, line gain is 11dB, and RIAA error holds to 0.1dB. Five input pairs, two variable output pairs and a fixed pair serve a full system on gold-plated RCA jacks. Thirty pounds of machined aluminum, with a 3-year limited warranty (6 months on tubes).

What Reviewers Are Saying

Jim Clements of Home Theater HiFi reviewed the RP-5 v2 on January 24, 2024, noting its "several significant upgrades, many of which are trickled down from some of their top-of-the-line components." He asks for patience through break-in: "Your patience will be rewarded with an engaging and fluid musical presentation."

He put the headphone stage to work on HiFiMan HE1000 v2 planars. It "drove my HiFiMan HE1000 v2's without any signs of strain or distortion," he wrote, and called the preamp one "built to last as the heart of a great hi-fi system."

One quirk is worth knowing before it surprises you. There is no mute button on the front panel, and as Clements reports, "the only way to unmute the unit is to depress the mute button on the remote a second time." Keep the remote somewhere you can find it.

Who Is This Preamplifier Best For?

• Vinyl is your main event — the four gain settings span a 4mV moving magnet down to a 0.6mV moving coil, so your next cartridge never forces a new preamp with it.
• You like to tune things — eight loading values from 30 ohms to 47k, plus capacitance, let you dial a cartridge in properly rather than settle for the one setting most preamps give you.
• You listen on headphones too — the RH-5-derived tube stage drove HiFiMan's demanding HE1000 v2 planars cleanly for Home Theater HiFi, so you can skip buying a separate headphone amp.
• Your system doubles for movies — the unity-gain bypass hands your front speakers to a surround processor at a fixed level, so one pair of speakers serves both systems and you stop juggling two volume knobs.
• Your amplifier takes XLR — the RP-5 v2 is built around gold-plated RCA throughout. If balanced runs are part of your plan, Rogue's RP-7v2 adds two XLR input pairs and two XLR output pairs.

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Run the variable RCA outputs to your power amp. Keep the second pair free for a subwoofer. Your turntable joins the phono input, with gain and loading set to suit your cartridge. Line sources fill the rest, and a surround processor joins the bypass loop.

Headphones plug into the quarter-inch jack on the front panel. Set the cartridge switches once. After that, the tubes handle everything, and you go back to playing records.

Pairs Well With

Building around the RP-5 v2? Here are some great companions:

• Turntable: The reason this Rogue exists — see our Turntables.
• Headphones: That RH-5-derived circuit deserves a serious pair — see our Headphones.
• Interconnects: Quality RCA cables carry the signal to your power amp — see our Interconnect Cables.
• Audio Rack: Give this 30-pound American a proper home — see our Audio Racks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tubes does it use?

Four 12AU7/ECC802 tubes in a mu-follower circuit. It is a common, affordable type, easy to replace and a favorite with listeners who enjoy tube rolling.

Will it work with my cartridge?

Almost certainly. Gain settings of 43, 48, 55 and 65dB cover high-output moving magnets through low-output moving coils. Loading adjusts from 30 ohms to 47k.

How good is the phono stage?

It is derived from Rogue's Triton II standalone phono preamplifier, with RIAA accuracy held within 0.1dB.

What did the v2 revision change?

A 0.5dB-step volume control with a lower noise floor, a quieter and higher-gain phono stage, and a headphone circuit built on RH-5 technology.

Does it have a headphone output?

Yes, a tube-based headphone amplifier on a standard quarter-inch front-panel jack.

What warranty does it carry?

A 3-year limited warranty, with 6 months on the tubes.

See It in Action

Old Guy Hifi reviews the RP-5, the platform the v2 refines:

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