ARC Ref 5SE Question
 

I am new to ARC and am looking to buy a used Ref 5SE. Has there been any changes over the years on the Ref 5SE since its introduction? Would one built in 2011 or 2012 be exactly the same as 2015? Any reasons to buy a more recent one rather than older one?

Thank you in advance..

The only thing I am aware of is the whole "brown board vs. green board" controversy. Early ones had brown. Newer ones have green. Many people swear that the brown ones sound better. ARC claims the green ones sound at least as good.

I've never heard a direct comparison, but I seriously doubt that the boards can make an audible difference. But I suppose it's possible.

FWIW, all the new Ref6's are green boards and they sound even better, so I don't think the board was ever a limiting factor.

Ref 5se
 

Had a 5se, Got a 6. The construction remained the same, this from a very knowledgeable dealer. Sold for $5500 and 150 hours. I had heard of the brown/green board comparison and heard it was something about soldering procedure.

Hi 2fastdriving, interestingly enough I had a dealer tell me that the green board is better.. :)

The Ref 5se is a phenomenal preamp.

I would go with the latest unit I can find. You can call or email ARC with the serial number and they will tell you when it was made. ARC sometimes makes small changes (improvements) as they go. I know this is true with the Ref 5se. When I sent mine back to ARC under warranty, I was told they also did some updates. Not only did the earlier version have the brown board but I believe it also had a plastic remote.

If you get an early version with plastic remote, you may want to order a replacement metal remote. The plastic remote for my Ref CD7 stopped working after a while. The weight inside came loose and after it banged around inside a while, the remote stopped working. When I called ARC I was told it was a problem with the plastic remotes.

Thank you all for your feedback. Is the stock power cable that comes with the Ref 5SE decent ? I don’t want to spend much on another cable unless the stock cable is not good.

It's fine, first listen to the preamp for a week and become accustomed to it's sound and then if necessary change the power cord.

Arc uses very nice 20a cords, even though the components don't really require it. Something to keep in mind if you already have cords you want to use, or are shopping. They may not fit without an adapter.

I found that the Shunata (not Venom) power cords make a big difference with Audio Research gear. I use the Zitron Alpha HC on my Ref 5se. There are other brands like Sain that are also very good matches. But I really like the price performance ratio of the Shunyata cables.

The other thing I did was replace the ARC tube dampers with Herbie's tube dampers. I think this also makes a noticeable difference.

Hmm I think I will look into this for my ref6.