⭕ The Exemplar Audio XP-2 is one of those preamps that does not have the brand clout of Audio Research or McIntosh but rivals them in terms of sound quality. The XP-2 has an amazing sonic balance. Very clean highs, nice lucid mid-range and a well defined bass. It uses two JAN 5670W tubes in each channel and high quality Auricaps. The design is rather simplistic with emphasis on sound quality and beefed up with quality materials. Power supply (dual mono) is housed in a separate chassis to reduce the effect of electrical interference. All this brought about a very transparent sound with nice depth. If we have to assign some kind of ranking between it and Audio Research and McIntosh, this would slot in comfortably ahead of McIntoshs C2300 and sit between Audio Researchs Reference 3 and Reference 5 preamp. Less than 14 months old. One owner. Shipping or collection and it comes with a 30 day right of return should it not perform to your expectations.