Ref75 + ref5se

[2fastdriving]

Originally Posted by Bavarian05

I am looking to upgrade the link between the Bryston BDP-1/BDA-1 and ARC Ref 10 and then eventually to the ARC Ref 110. Speakers are Sonus Faber Olympica II. Dealer says I need to be doing a minimum of Transparent Reference. Wow, that's a lot of dough...

I'd be wary of any dealer (or person, period) that tells you what you "must have". But with a preamp as amazing as yours, I see where he's going. An entry level preamp is not going to greatly benefit from Reference level ic's...but yours surely will. Simply put, you are leaving a lot in the table if you don't use high quality ic's with a Ref 10/ref 110 combo.

You can get by with less...I am currently with Super ic's, but I know for a fact I am not getting the best out of my combo

[j3brow]

Originally Posted by 2fastdriving

You can get by with less...I am currently with Super ic's, but I know for a fact I am not getting the best out of my combo

Marc, I can assure you when you hear your gear with Ref XL balanced interconnects you will be blown away -- every bit as good as Ref XL speaker cables -- and my comparison was against Ultra which is quite significantly better than Super which I also owned prior to Ultra. Every level of Transparent gives you more and yes skipping levels yields an exponential improvement as i experienced that when skipping ref for ref XL. I have an offer on the table now for RefXL SC used dealer pair but it just isn't right time for me (and not right length). Transparent is king to my ears. No need to ever look elsewhere. Jason

[ariess]

To combine the topic of this thread and Transparent cable, what do you think is the appropriate level of Transparent cable for Audio Research Ref 75 and 5SE? Above Reference the cables start to cost more than the components!

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by j3brow

Marc, I can assure you when you hear your gear with Ref XL balanced interconnects you will be blown away -- every bit as good as Ref XL speaker cables -- and my comparison was against Ultra which is quite significantly better than Super which I also owned prior to Ultra. Every level of Transparent gives you more and yes skipping levels yields an exponential improvement as i experienced that when skipping ref for ref XL. I have an offer on the table now for RefXL SC used dealer pair but it just isn't right time for me (and not right length). Transparent is king to my ears. No need to ever look elsewhere. Jason

If budget only allows one cable at a time, which one do I do first?
AES/EBU between Bryston BDP-1 and BDA-1 or source to preamp XLR interconnect?

[2fastdriving]

Originally Posted by Bavarian05

If budget only allows one cable at a time, which one do I do first?
AES/EBU between Bryston BDP-1 and BDA-1 or source to preamp XLR interconnect?

I've personally never heard much difference between digital cables. So I'd start with the ic's between dac and preamp. They say to start with ic's and then do SC's. However, I've heard SC's make a big difference even with "inferior" ic's.

[2fastdriving]

Originally Posted by ariess

To combine the topic of this thread and Transparent cable, what do you think is the appropriate level of Transparent cable for Audio Research Ref 75 and 5SE? Above Reference the cables start to cost more than the components!

Yes I suppose we've been going a bit off topic. I personally feel that Reference is the right place to be with these components. Anything less and you are leaving some performance on the table. Anything more and you are spending a ton. But if you can afford higher level , it will be awesome.

I think that's what the dealer was trying to say about this topic.

[ariess]

I am hearing a buzzing sound from my new Ref 75. It's probably a transformer based on past experience. I would be grateful for some Ref 75 owners to take a listen to theirs and tell me whether it's dead silent (like my VSi75 is) or makes a buzzing sound.

[bjmccoy]

Originally Posted by ariess

I am hearing a buzzing sound from my new Ref 75. It's probably a transformer based on past experience. I would be grateful for some Ref 75 owners to take a listen to theirs and tell me whether it's dead silent (like my VSi75 is) or makes a buzzing sound.

If I put my ear next amp I can hear a buzz also.

Blaine

[ariess]

Anyone else?

[ariess]

Do any Ref 75 owners hear a hum or buzz from their Ref 75 from a few feet away?