ARC Reference 5 SE review from The Audio Beat

[tima]

ARC Reference 5 SE review from The Audio Beat

[joeinid]

Very complimentary. I am sure it must sound great.

[doggiehowser]

It does. Major step up from the 5.

[Ritmo]

Originally Posted by joeinid

Very complimentary. I am sure it must sound great.

It does Joe!

Mike

[dmnc02]

A nice review other than the silly statement at the end regarding the Reference Anniversary, which obviously reflects the dealer's economic incentives to push the Reference 5 SE over the no longer available Reference Anniversary.

[doggiehowser]

Originally Posted by dmnc02

A nice review other than the silly statement at the end regarding the Reference Anniversary, which obviously reflects the dealer's economic incentives to push the Reference 5 SE over the no longer available Reference Anniversary.

The Anniversary is IMHO a bit more dynamic than the 5SE. Depending on system synergies, the 5SE may complement better.

[dmnc02]

Originally Posted by doggiehowser

The Anniversary is IMHO a bit more dynamic than the 5SE. Depending on system synergies, the 5SE may complement better.

Just to be clear: it is "silly" IMO for a reviewer to insert in a review a hearsay statement concerning an unidentified dealer and a component he (the reviewer) has apparently never heard, especially when that statement is just an alleged subjective preference without any further explanation given.

By way of comparison, this is what JV has stated regarding the REF 5 SE in the last issue of TAS: "ARC's new Reference 5 SE preamp sounds like a Reference 5 on steroids--the energy level has gone up several notches, as has resolution. When you couple these improvements with exceptionally neutral balance, superior presence and focus, and what may be the most capacious soundstaging I've yet heard from any ARC linestage (save the Ref 40), you get a preamp that is considerably better than its predecessor."

[microstrip]

Originally Posted by dmnc02

A nice review other than the silly statement at the end regarding the Reference Anniversary, which obviously reflects the dealer's economic incentives to push the Reference 5 SE over the no longer available Reference Anniversary.

May be the dealer did not care about scale, dynamics, bass extension and performance on transients ...

No ARC dealer will carry a demo using the REF40 anymore - IMHO it would be a nice way of loosing sales.

[dmnc02]

Originally Posted by microstrip

No ARC dealer will carry a demo using the REF40 anymore - IMHO it would be a nice way of loosing sales.

Exactly my point.

BTW, it is definitely no accident that all reviews of recent ARC Reference gear end up mentioning the soundstaging, as it is really exceptional. I had a member of my local audio group (who is an experienced listener and a trained classical musician) visiting me a few weeks ago. On the first track I played for him, he turned around and asked if the surround speakers, which I have in the room, were turned on (they weren't).

[New guy]

Stereophile reviewed the ref 5se in the latest issue and gave it a rave review.