New preamps making new claims.

General Motors says the same things about there new cars........Look what its getting them............

Have faith Thorman,
there must be room for improvement,
otherwise I can't justify future purchases.

"New" and "Improved" have been staple marketing adjectives for more than a century. How else would new products get sold if consumers didn't believe the latest version would make them happier, healthier or sexier?

Take all marketing claims with a sizable grain of salt. They are intended to seduce you into opening your wallet.

Tvad,
Totally agree, but I keep reading here in forums about how Audio Research out-performs their older models.
Some of it may be true, hence the thread.

Some are, some aren't. Its case by case. I would rather wait until the latest model has been out for some time and see what the reaction is. Also the first run often has problems that are ironed out later in production. The best buy is often the model that has just been replaced. There will be a mad scramble to dump them by those who must have the latest thing. The best policy is to drop back a generation or so. There is unlikely to be a large difference and you will save 50% of the price, often more.