Audio Research Reference 250 monoblock amplifiers

[JBT]

If I were to sum up the Reference 10 in a single word, that would be ‘realistic’. It delivers musical content with a sense of realism and honesty and accuracy that should be possible at all levels, but immediately shows just how much more there is on offer from our musical sources. There’s an uncanny sense of tonal, textural and timbral ‘rightness’ on offer here; instruments just sound like the real deal here. Not dynamically compressed or electronically processed, but in some respects the only way to understand precisely what I mean is to walk a mile in the Reference 10s shoes. Once you hear what the Reference 10 does with such musical elements, you realise just how much of a bottleneck the preamp can be, and how truly remarkable the sound can be when that bottleneck is taken away. As it is through the Reference 10.

The issue is, can cost ever be no object when a preamp costs as much as the Reference 10? We are in the upper atmosphere of audio here, and few of these products make it to this level without being extremely good at what they do. The Reference 10 is no exception – it’s quite simply the best preamplifier I have encountered in all manners. I’ve heard ones that might come close in one or two parameters, but fail with others (a preamp that sounds remarkable for two tracks then stops working, for example, or one that has excellent functionality, but need you to turn it on with a stick if you want to live). Nothing out there has this combination of ultimate performance and real-world functionality that behaves with such control and poise.

We are living in a golden age for audio, but one that requires quite a lot of gold to change hands in order to realise that potential. This is quite simply the best there is, but that comes at such a price premium that it will only ever be available to a select few with very deep pockets. This is not jealousy at work, but a desire to see audio as something more than a plaything for the super-rich.

Fortunately, while the Audio Research Reference 10 pushes the frontiers of ‘how much!?!’ technology, the company also delivers more attainable products like the new SP20 preamplifier and VSi75. I suspect these attainable products get to be as good as they are through the research that goes into making Reference 10 preamps and Reference


Audio Research Reference 250 monoblock amplifiers | Hi-Fi+

[Mikeoz]

you want to try living in Europe where most US kit costs 50% more. The used market is the only realistic option for a lot of people this side of the pond...

[pete6737]

Great info on the Ref 10. But the title is misleading. The post is not about the Ref250 monoblocks. Pete