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Audio Research State of the Art Audio Reproduction

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  #111  
Old 02-19-2017, 11:15 PM
RLF RLF is offline
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Originally Posted by essjay View Post
I got to compare a ref 150 to my Ayre VX5 the other weekend using my ARC Ref 3 and to be blunt there is not much in it, both sound very good.

Perhaps the 150 was a little better with softer female vocals, strings and wind instruments where as the vx5 had better grip and bass, therefore better for rock and EDM etc...

IMHO I could easily live with either however the VX5 has a MUCH lower noise floor and the heat off the 150 noticeably upped the room temp.

I would like to have both, one for winter and one for summer but that itch is not allowed to be scratched just yet.
Was the the Ayre VX-5 which you did the comparison, the Twenty version? I own both a VX-5 Twenty and Audio Research 75SE and must say that the Ayre sounds very good with my speakers. I bought my Ayre before the Twenty was available. After I had my VX-5 upgraded to the Twenty, I found that when I got it back from Ayre, it sounded much better and on par with my ARC Ref 75, but provided a good deal more bass and slam to my Sonus Faber speakers than the Audio Research amp. The combination of my Ayre VX-5 with my ARC Reference 6 preamp is sublime.

Last edited by RLF; 02-19-2017 at 11:16 PM. Reason: Additional information
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  #112  
Old 03-13-2017, 12:29 AM
Secretariat Secretariat is offline
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ARC LS27 preamplifier with Plinius SA-250 MKII amplifier.
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  #113  
Old 03-24-2017, 11:25 PM
birdland birdland is offline
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Originally Posted by audiohippo View Post
So an ARC pre with Pass amp is a good match?
I tried an ARC LS25 with a Pass Labs X350.5 and the bass was overbearing. I think this may have been due to the low input impedance of the X350.5 (20Kohms balanced). I believe the .8 variants have higher input impedance so they should fair better although I have not heard the .8 variants with any ARC preamp.
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  #114  
Old 04-09-2017, 09:52 PM
afridi afridi is offline
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ARC SP20 and Plinius SA103. Works pretty nicely
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  #115  
Old 07-26-2017, 08:47 PM
jojo jojo is offline
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Anyone run the 5se or SP20 with A47? I am considering this 2 preamp but any issues with impedance ? Thanks.
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  #116  
Old 11-18-2017, 08:35 PM
Tie_breaker Tie_breaker is offline
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I just bought a Ref 5se and am using it with a pair of Bryston 7b3 mono amps. My first ARC unit. Lovely sound... quite an improvement from my old SS preamp..
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  #117  
Old 11-19-2017, 12:33 AM
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essjay essjay is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RLF View Post
Was the the Ayre VX-5 which you did the comparison, the Twenty version? I own both a VX-5 Twenty and Audio Research 75SE and must say that the Ayre sounds very good with my speakers. I bought my Ayre before the Twenty was available. After I had my VX-5 upgraded to the Twenty, I found that when I got it back from Ayre, it sounded much better and on par with my ARC Ref 75, but provided a good deal more bass and slam to my Sonus Faber speakers than the Audio Research amp. The combination of my Ayre VX-5 with my ARC Reference 6 preamp is sublime.
Not the twenty version, the original model.

I will upgrade to MX-R Twentys over the next 12 months, so wont bother with a twenty upgrade on my VX5. I suspect MX-R's with my Ref 3 will be damn near perfect.
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  #118  
Old 11-19-2017, 02:56 AM
Secretariat Secretariat is offline
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Just upgraded from the AR LS 27 to the AR Reference 5SE Preamp. AR Reference 5SE Preamp with Pass Labs X250.5 Amp.

Last edited by Secretariat; 11-19-2017 at 11:04 AM.
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  #119  
Old 11-19-2017, 04:12 AM
RLF RLF is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by essjay View Post
Not the twenty version, the original model.

I will upgrade to MX-R Twentys over the next 12 months, so wont bother with a twenty upgrade on my VX5. I suspect MX-R's with my Ref 3 will be damn near perfect.
Great choice in my opinion. I now have the MX-R Twenty’s which have replaced my VX-5 Twenty. The VX-5 is darn good, but the MX-5 has more refinement. Have you thought about upgrading your Ref 3?
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  #120  
Old 11-19-2017, 07:48 AM
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essjay essjay is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RLF View Post
Great choice in my opinion. I now have the MX-R Twenty’s which have replaced my VX-5 Twenty. The VX-5 is darn good, but the MX-5 has more refinement. Have you thought about upgrading your Ref 3?
Not really, I very much like my ref 3, is the ref 6 that much better?
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