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Originally Posted by cmalak
Bob...Dan's response is spot on and your plan to take the Ref 75 to demo it with the Futuras is the right thing to do. If you can swing it, take your VX-5 as well to compare the two amps. My guess is you will find the Ref 75 will do quite nicely in areas of timbre, resolution, imaging and spatial cues but will have a tougher time with bass depth and more importantly articulation as well as macro dynamics. The VX-5 will probably beat the Ref 75 on those two dimensions but may underwhelm on the ARC's strengths. You can also see if your dealer has a more powerful ARC or other tube amp (but again the key here will not be power rating but current throughput - amperage - given the difficult load). You really want an amp that is stable into 2 ohms and probably the auto former on the Mac amps will give them the edge vs. other tube amps. More likely though will be the need for a SS amp that keeps on doubling power as impedance is halved and is stable into a 2 ohm load. Perhaps the dealer will have some other options for you to consider (maybe try out a Class A SS design as an example). Good luck and let us know how you make out.
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Cyril. Thank you for your additional thoughts. With my large ProAcs I do find that the attributes that you allude to are pretty much what I expect with regards to the differences in the 2 amps. My main concern is that the Ref 75 will not be enough to drive the SF to its full potential.
My dealer carries both ARC and Ayre so a direct comparison should not be a problem.
When my Ref 75 was delivered and set up by my dealer, he took my Ayre away to send back to Ayre for the Twenty upgrade. Therefore, I did not get to compare them directly, had to resort to acoustical memory. I did find that after about 100 hours on it, my Ref 75 has been pretty special in the midrange, timbre, resolution, and spacial cues which are the very things that you mention above. While the bass was not quite as pronounced as with the Ayre, it did quite a good job on my easy to drive ProAcs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by metaphacts
I've heard the combo extensively. I love the REF75 but depending on music and room, it's just not enough for Futuras. Maybe the KT150s help that but I've heard REF250s not being enough in a big room with large scale classical works. With the engaging beauty of the ARC/ Sonus combination, the inability to scale dynamics can be frustrating.
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As I noted above, that is my main concern.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apexorca
The old truth about that SF needs more power than other speakers and then performed outstanding is not that true anymore. They performs well nowadays with less power than former models.
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I did audition the SF Olympica III with the Ref 75. While the Ref 75 appeared to drive it quite well in the dealer's room, I was not all that impressed with the sound in comparison to my ProAcs. I would imagine that the Futura is in a different league though and from the specs does not look any more difficult to drive than the Olympica III