I own the PT5 but I couldn't find an area for that review. From the specs and the manual it seems identical other than XLR inputs. I have heard a PT3 and to my ears they sound identical. I love this preamp. I went into a local HIFI shop and heard some krells and McIntosh with the KEF LS50 which are what I have this paired to. None sounded better than my current set up. different but not better. The preamp is very detailed. The soundstage it throws is amazing. I actually felt the Macintosh was a tad muddier on the lower notes (could have been the placement of the speakers since I had them change amps and speakers to hear pairings or that I have them set up as a 3 way in my office). At this price point it is an amazing value. I really enjoy the ability to have a built in High Pass and Low Pass filter. I use a NAD to power dual woofers. The nice thing is that they are all active so I use a RCA 100 low pass filter from the full range R/ L RCA to the NAD Amplifier into 2 passive woofers and the high pass into my B&K 200.2 which power the KEF LS50 which makes it simple to have stereo low end for my music instead of just a single subwoofer. I have the passives in open baffle but it's a nice, simple, somewhat cost effective(for me at least) DIY 3 way KEF set up which really brings out the best in everything. Also, the all amps have it, so it doesn't necessarily standout: Numerous inputs, Headphones amp(which is also very good and the loudness button works really well on this as well) Also has a pretty good MONO out (MONO is becoming a new trend/resurgence in HIFI and a nice option to have) Could you get a better preamp today. Yeah of course. But it would be hard to find a made in USA (NY), built in tuner, and in the case of PT5 XLR, for anything close to what these go for today. Advice-Dont turn this off, just put It in sleep mode. Or turn off the amp and let it dissipate then turn off preamp since it makes a thud sound when it powers off. I just leave mine in sleep mode and wake it up. Its a preamp, its uses almost no power in sleep mode if at all.

As far as the LOUDNESS button, the MANUAL states that it is only meant for low listening levels when the lower frequencies are so soft that only the higher frequencies are heard. Its not a conventional brute force loudness button. When listening in my office after the kids are asleep and I cannot play them loud I really enjoy the ability to enable it. It works well at low levels to fill the sound out at about 50 or lower volume(I use it at around 60ish) anything higher and its too much. Listen to any amp at really low levels to the drums then slowly raise the volume and see when the bass becomes more detailed and listenable. Because the bass drivers are less efficient than tweeters the bass will be completely lost until your start to feed more power. All it really does it raise the equalization of the lower frequencies to match the teeter volumes at low levels. Of course you can just leave it off, its optional, and it turns off when you raise the volume to loud enough levels. I personally enjoy it because my younger brother listens to R&B/Hip Hop, and at higher levels you can still press the button and it raises the lower levels, which makes it feel like your hearing beats type headphones through your speakers. The bass really hits you hard. He gets a kick out it and it's fun letting him play his music and hang out in the office, without messing with the tone settings. I usually leave it off since it colors the sound so much at normal listening levels, I listen mostly to Steely Dan, Miles Davis, Clapton, Eagles, Led Zeppelin, etc... so I prefer accurate bass then busting my Honda civic trunk levels. If you don't have the remote it can be a pain to go through the menu to set everything up initialy such as headphones setting , ie have the signal to the speakers off if you insert headphones, and the like. But once its set up your done forever.

You don't have to pair this up with a B&K power amp. Try it on other high quality power amps, you will be pleasantly surprised at the results

You must be joking!

This is an update to a previous review. My PT3 was put up for a while to try a few high end preamps, some of which were very good. I just recently installed the PT3 on some Nuforce amps I recently aquired. I could not believe how good they sounded together. The whole soundstage opened up with great transparency & detail. I also have tried this preamp with a McCormack DNA-1 with excellent results as well. This preamp gives you the ability to shape the sound rather than trying to treat a room's acoustics. Anyway don't worry about the loudness button, its there but it doesn't mean you have to use it. Superb preamp for the price & above. I have no choice but to give the PT3 high marks!

Similar Products Used:

Too numerous to mention.

This is a review for the PT5, the replacement for the PT3. I stopped into a local Tweeter store to look at the new preamp. As I had owned the PT3 but had sold it, I went immediately to the Loudness button. Same old,same old! You would have thought the designers might read owner's reviews in websites like AudioReview and take a look at the over -the-top bass problem. I guess not. This unit looks and feels like the PT3. The big difference I see is in adding balanced output connectors to the back of the unit. The price has increased by $100 or so. This unit is a mid-fi preamp. Buy the PT3 and save some money unless you need balanced outputs... but why would you be using this preamp for that?

Build quality, neutral sound.

Loudness feature is "overstressed"

After listening to this preamp extensively for the past couple of months I feel that I need to place my opinion on the piece. First off I won't tell you how it sounds since everyone has different preferences in music and also different equipment. I feel the loudness button is pretty useless since it boosts the lower frequencies up 6 db's. That's quite a bit, a bit too much in my opinion. The floor would shake with little volume applied and sounded very muddy. But..., my equipment is different than yours. The programmable features are neat but I never use them. They are a bit difficult to navigate through and some things you can only do with the remote. Other than those two things I love this preamp. It's smallish size makes a nice fit just about anywhere. This is first preamp I've used which utilizes a "digital" volume. The same nob on the unit controls the bass, treble, and balance features. It took a little while to get used to since it's sensitive but works fine. The control in/out feature will turn things on/off when the unit is taken out of sleep mode. This I find especially useful since my amp (B&K ST125.2) is placed far above what my wife can reach. The face is attractive with no mess of nobs and buttons. The buttons which are on the unit light up in red when utilized. These buttons are the soft touch control design, not the heapy cheapy hard plastic junk. The remote is ok, not the best but it beats not having one at all. I find the build quality to be excellent, something I would expect from an American maker who takes pride in their product. BTW - The exact preamp I own is the Series II, Version 2.05.

Similar Products Used:

Audiosource, Onkyo, Carver.

clean crisp sound, looks good too

remote can be a pain and the loudness feature could use some refinement

This was my first step out of the lower end of audio equipment. After spending several months listening to many systems accross a wide range of prices I settled on the B&K PT lll series ll pre amp mated to a B&K ST2140 amplifier. I am currently using a realley old Techniques MASH cd player and my old faithfull Klipsch 45G's. Switching to the B&K from my old techniques integrated amp/pre-amp was astounding. The Bass is tighter the highs higher and the entire spectrum of sound is both fuller and cleaner. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm glad I saved a couple of G's and went with the B&K cmponets.

Transparency, detail, better sound than some more expensive preamps

None worth mentioning

As an audiophile i feel compelled to write a review on this preamp. If you have thousands of dollars to spend on a preamp, buy this one first because it will save you alot of money that can be better spent elsewhere. I feel alot of audiophiles will ignore this preamp because of it's cheap price tag but they will also miss out on it's sound quality. I've tried other more expensive preamps but i always go back to the PT3. You can always find fault with any product but the one thing the PT3 does well is it allows us to enjoy the music. I highly recommend.

Similar Products Used:

McCormack, Audio research, Bryston, B&K

After a quick burn in, the seperation is wonderul. Great value.

The tuner section could be better, but at this price I can't complain. The remote is a little hard to use.

I recently picked up this preamp for an extra system that I was putting together with a few old extra components that I had laying around. I am using a old Dynaco 400 that was modified and a pair of Thiel CS3.5 speakers.

warm, rich sound

detail of upper frequencies

Havong downgraded from a krell 300i, I wanted something with both features and sound quality. This provided me with both. The sound is very warm and rich, though it does lack some detail, especially on the upper end. Still, it would be difficult to find a better "musical" player for anywhere close to the price. What I like the most about the player though is the fact that it is possible to connect more amps (for more speakers) so that a center, or stereo front/rear may be used. Associated equipment: Acurus A100 Martin Logan Aerius i rotel 951 cd

Detail, looks, flexibility

no balanced

I bought this pre-amp two weeks ago. It really impressed me when I auditioned it in the dealer, it sounded very clear and detailed. I was interested in the Classé CP-35, but it was a lot more expensive. I compared them the same day and there wasn't much difference between them, the classé had maybe a little more bass but it was very hard to notice. The only advantage the Classé had was that it was balanced, but the price was a lot more for this. This pre-amp is the best choice for $1000, or I would even say $2000.

Similar Products Used:

Classé CP-35, Adcom GFP-750

Easy to program (with 40 presets including tuner stations, volume, balance, etc). Good remote, better than some with pre-amps costing thousands more. Awesome price at $598.

None that I can think of!

I'm using the pre-amp with the B&K ST 1400 II (125 Wpc) amp. I auditioned matched pairs from Parasound, Adcom, Myriad, Musical Fidelity, Rotel, NAD and nothing sounded as good as the B&K Components. Such a nice uncolored sound. I wasn't looking for anything other than transparency; didn't want "warm," or "bright."

Similar Products Used:

None (this is my first hi-fi purchase).