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Audio Research State of the Art Audio Reproduction |
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#11
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Isn't the line stage of the ref Dac just the Ref5SEs without switching?
So your Ref 10 would beat the ref Dac. On the other hand, ARC isn't know for the SQ of their DACs and SS amps. I'd be looking elsewhere. |
#12
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I think Ref DAC is best suited for digital only front ends directly to amp. I say this primarily due to ergonomics- the ref DAC will not allow bypassing of preamp section and each time you turn on....I would need to turn volume up to 70 (which is about where ARC recommended for unity gain). Adding another preamp is redundant and would somewhat be like going from a DAC to a ref5se to the ref10 In my case I had a a moon 850p with ASRBasis phono and used the Woo WES amp for Stax headphones. I found the ref DAC sounded best directly into woo Wes rather than through the 850. For both SQ and ease of use. I disagree that the SQ of this unit is not high quality...the user interface is poor but sound is really good. I do prefer the dCS Rossini and Vivaldi units I now own to the ref DAC Personal opinion is ref DAC was a product that just was not perfect for many applications and they no longer support the iPad app or the SW |
#13
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RefDac has option to fix volume on 66 level. So you do not need to correct volume every time you turn on the system. Agree the ARC apl is not perfect but you can work with others open apl available for music servers.
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#14
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Best, Ken |
#15
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You can manually turn the volume up to 66 or any value but there is not an option to fix it there. At every power on you have to reset volume control and reset input you want. It does not allow either to be fixed |
#16
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ARC Ref CD-9 vs. Ref DAC
[QUOTE=PlanarSpeakerFan;820369For the record, I never said the Ref DAC didn't have high sound quality. If it didn't sound terrific, I wouldn't be considering it for the digital source of my system.
Best, Ken[/QUOTE] Planar That SQ comment was meant for the response right above mine Not directed at you |
#17
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Ken |
#18
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I think ARC has made some extraordinary SS amplifiers. In particular: D-200, D-300.
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#19
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Last edited by Sharp 1080; 12-18-2016 at 01:25 PM. |
#20
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I change my mind at least twice a day. From what I've read, these two are extremely similar sonically. The choice will probably come down to flexibility and functionality. I am going to test them head-to-head at a dealer soon. I'll report back afterwards. The Ref DAC is scheduled to be refreshed first in 2017, followed by the Ref CD-9. The update will be to the DAC 9 digital board from the current DAC 8 board. One thing I will be testing in my audition is if the Ref DAC sounds superior without an ARC Ref preamp in the system compared to with a Ref preamp. If the Ref DAC sounds superior without the preamp, I'll definitely get the Ref CD-9. I'm not a fan of non-defeatable volume controls on DACs. And yes, the Ref 10 preamp is better than I could have ever dreamed! Best, Ken |
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