ARC Ref 5 SE and Ref Phono 2 SE Combination

[analog brother]

constellation perseus?
soulution 750?

starts to get very pricey though at this level, although good variable gain and loading options, xlr outputs, separate power supplies and no tubes for quiet operation.

[TOGA]

Next one coming in is Burmester 100. Dont wanna go beyond 13,000$ for this. As much as I like Ref2Se, I really have to say it did has some hiss, can't say dead quiet. Returning to Moon and it was closer to dead quiet. Collecting data now and in 2015 it will be time to make a purchase. Toga

[TOGA]

Oh..oh.. LAMM LP2.0 De , also has its own noise, but at much lower in level than 2SE. Let alone the Rhea. Noise is like a soft 50Hz ac buzz rather than tube circuits hiss like those from Rhea and ARC's. And it sound nice too. Wow..

[analog brother]

is that the old version, or the new 2.1?
fixed gain and loading, right?

[TOGA]

Originally Posted by analog brother

is that the old version, or the new 2.1? fixed gain and loading, right?

Correct. Besides ac line humm, which Moon and Accuphase also had, no such white noise from tube circuit that 2SE and Aesthetix produced.

[analog brother]

nice! fixed gain is 60db with rca outs which is enough for most carts.
loading is 400 ohms. i think that may be ok too.
some carts recommend 100 ohms but all subjective really at the end of the day.

did you like the sound better than ref2se?
how do they compare, other than the silence?

[TOGA]

Comparison , in my opinion is pretty inaccurate here because my TT is only average. Each strength of each phono preamp will shine more with more higher level TT and cart. and I am not very picky about all aspect of sound, anything that sound good is fine for me. Actually all tube units, Ref2se, Rhea, LP2.0 all have a very good sound. In the case of 2Se. With low gain setting, noise is lower too, but gain itself is way too low, With higher output cart in the future, ref2se could be the winner. For Lamm, that ac line hum Level followed preamp volume control too, so with higher output cart, that hum will sire be less noticeable. Of all MOON 310+320 seem to have strongest bass. Only less transparency from mid up. Ref2 very very good, except noice. Accuphase C27, the most compromised. Very good sound too, just no tube magic, no white noise, highly flexible. Lamm , with my current Tt and cart, a little weak in the bass and deep bass. But outstanding elsewhere. If Without audible white noise, I would choose Ref2SE. Toga
If I can find the cart that make ARC work in low gain mode and still loud enough, that would be interesting.

[MPS]

I find ARC REF PH2 SE to be absolutely quiet in my system, whatever noise is there it remains below that of power amp which can't be heard to the spot and is anyway less than (quiet) running cooling fan of the amp.