Mcintosh Group sells Audio Research

[triode12]

Originally Posted by doggiehowser

Having used the Ref5 then Ref5SE and Ref6 now, all I can say is good riddance to the old flick knobs. Hated them. The new rotary dials are sooo much better to use.

And they also swapped sides for the input and volume. Finally. [emoji848]

To me there is nothing retro about them.

And I did love the look of the Galileo series. And I’m glad they retained some of those changes in the Ref6

Yes I agree with you regarding the click potentiometers/switches of the REF5SE (I have a Ref5SE and dislike them too) and but they can also use the same rotary potentiometers with the same lab look knobs -they have been that way since the 70s. As to the swapped sides, the older preamps always had the Vol on the left hand side since the SP1 and SP3 (with the knob design that the Ref6 is trying to emulate) - so it always been that way and a conscious decision by the founder - William Z Johnson. The Ref6 screws up this tradition.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Actually, I don't think they need to focus on digital products; I'm not sure its not in their set of core competencies. I don't see them as competitors to Lampizator, TotalDAC, EMM, Berkeley Audio Design, MSB, Playback Designs, Wavelength, Chord, or many other specialized DAC companies. They should focus on their core strengths: amps, preamps, and phono stages.

Agree completely with Puma Cat. A friend updated to the good looking AR Ref CD9SE and when I read the specs the DAC still hadn’t been updated from the rather long in production CD9 DAC.
The following could be termed an act of heresy, but I convinced him to (let me) swap in the fab CHORD ‘DAVE’ DAC via digital out AES/EBU (Odin 110 ohm). I got goose bumps from the alive sound.
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I was very impressed in an unexpected way - the CD 9SE is superbly fitted out with all types of connectors for inputs and outputs, in fact the best combination/layout on the market.