Quote:
Originally Posted by joeinid
I can't imagine they would stop making a preamp as good as this one is supposed to be (I have not heard one yet) and not replace it with something else. Customer: I want your best preamp from Audio Research. Dealer: They no longer make it  , but you can buy this one instead. Customer: What else do you have ? ....
Doesn't make sense to me.
What's next, a REF6 or REF7? |
Joe...the 40th Anniversary Edition Reference preamp is essentially a supercharged Ref 5. Circuit design is similar. The main difference is separate power supply and upgraded caps and dual mono design. So you can think of the Ref 5 as being the trickle down of the 40th Anniversary Reference preamp eventhough it came out before it. Actually the more accurate way to think about is that the 40th Anniv preamp is a trickle-up design from the Ref 5
If I were to guess the Ref 5 and Ref Phono 2 are here for a while and the Anniv preamp as Jeff said will shortly be retired once the one year is up.
What ARC is working on right now is updates to the Reference amplifiers. There is a prototype Ref 150 amp which will replace my beloved Ref 110s coming out soon. If you go to the Wilson Audio forum and look at Deb's latest post on Wilson You Tube videos, you will see a Ref 150 prototype that was revealed at Definitive Audio's Music Matters event:
YouTube - Music Matters at Definitive Audio, February 9, 2011
My guess is there will be a Reference 150 amp, Ref 250 and Ref 650 Monos coming out soon. The Power tube of choice - the KT120s.
That would be my read on the situation at ARC in terms of new product development since all the preamps (both linestage and phono) across the price spectrum have been overhauled recently.