New ARC gear
 

I'm listening to the new SP20 preamp right now. My dealer also tells me there is a new CD6 coming in weeks. I did a search and can't find a single thing on the CD6. I'm being told the DAC in it is better than the Dac8. Who knows?

On the preamp: I am very pleased with the performance of it so far. It's got all the signature beauty in the vocals and acoustic instruments, plus some good punch in the bass, which is something I have been critical of with regard to ARC preamps (at least when paired with my MC452 amp).

But there are a few issues with it: The remote is so bad I thought it was broken. Then I realized you have to push down each button and hold it for a second before anything happens. Weird. But the remote weighs a lot! It's actually all metal, unlike the old ARC remotes. It just doesn't seem to work well. But it might be the preamp itself. I twist the knobs on the faceplate to change inputs and it takes 3 seconds for the thing to realize I touched it. Very strange and most unfriendly.

But it's got a great sounding phono input! And great sound all around. A bit different looking without the handles. I think it retails for $9k. I'm probably not going to bite. I feel like my all-Mc system needs a better DAC first, and I will be trying the CD6 for sure.

Actually, I found out that the remote isn't as bad as I said. It's just VERY picky as to where you point it. Once you get that right, it's not too slow. But the actual knobs on the front of the preamp ARE slow and unresponsive. Seems odd considering the price and build/sound quality that you get.