Do NOT audition the Audio Research Reference Phono 2 SE

[HBA]

My current phonostage is a PH-7 which I changed the tubes by NOS types. I am really interested about the Ref SE but I am afraid of listening it and be forces to sell my house to buy it..

[BillK]

Originally Posted by piolaxo

This was coming:

My dealer said it should ship to them sometime next week, so pics will be about two weeks yet.

Funny how having no turntable (having my Sumiko Blackbird replaced with a Lyra Kleos) and no phono stage make me want to do nothing this holiday weekend but listen to vinyl.

Ah well, I'll be doing enough of that soon enough.

[ehoove]

Congratulations! I'll be interested in your observations on the Sumiko vrs. the Lyra.
Regards,
Jim

[BillK]

No real time for comparisons yet, but I can tell at hour 2 that the PH2SE is by far the most transformative purchase I've ever made for my audio system.

I loved the PH5/Blackbird combo and the PH8/Blackbird demo combo, but the Kleos and the PH2SE are jaw-dropping.

I really look forward to hearing the PH2SE at hour 600!

[vjayh]

Does anyone know if AR is starting to upgrade the Ref Phono 2 to Ref Phono 2SE? I had heard they would be doing upgrades, but haven't yet seen anyone that has had their unit upgraded. Was told it would be soon after the SE version started shipping... Anxious to have mine upgraded!

[gclpc]

I have had my Ref Phono 2 SE upgrade for almost 3 months...

Greg

[tunes]

I understand that they are awaiting parts for the SE upgrade and that it will now be happening in the fall.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by BillK

Why? It's dangerous.

As you may have seen elsewhere, I was auditioning a PH8 to replace my PH5, and after a week in my home I thought it was a good upgrade, improving on my PH5 in many areas, and I was ready to pull the trigger and purchase it.

By a fluke, my dealer just happened to get in a Ref Phono 2 SE last Thursday, and since my loan was over Saturday I just had to A/B the two.

What I found was not subtle at all.

There was such a difference between the PH8 and the Ref Phono 2 SE that despite the doubling of the MSRP, I just had to have it.

From soundstaging to air above and below the notes to sounding that much more like music - more than really the Ref Phono 2 SE had any right to make, it was a revelation. At this level I expect differences to be tiny - a more realistic triangle here, a hint of roughness in the voice there.

You could hear how vast the difference was between the PH8 and the Ref 2 SE from the third note I ever heard played through it.

We're not talking neo-tweaky differences here, we're talking "sit your non-audiophile friends down and watch their jaws drop" differences. We're talking I will need to re-listen to all the vinyl in my collection differences.

So that's why I say do not audition the Ref Phono 2 SE; your checkbook may not be able to stand the hit it will take and/or may never recover - especially as you'll very likely feel that such an amazing piece of electronics deserves to be fed by a newer, better cartridge as well.

Okay, I won't audition it, then!

[TMcD]

Originally Posted by BillK

No real time for comparisons yet, but I can tell at hour 2 that the PH2SE is by far the most transformative purchase I've ever made for my audio system.

I loved the PH5/Blackbird combo and the PH8/Blackbird demo combo, but the Kleos and the PH2SE are jaw-dropping.

I really look forward to hearing the PH2SE at hour 600!

Fantatic.

I really like the sound of my PH5, so I can only imagine how the Ref sounds.

The PH5 was the first peice of ARC gear I bought and I have not looked back since.

[BillK]

I don't know how to really describe it except to say that it's just like I bought an entire new record library. I've heard some of these albums, especially my "demo" titles, hundreds of times.

With the Ref 2 SE it's like I'm hearing them anew, each time with my jaw dropped wondering "where did that come from?"

I'll say again that when you get to this level you expect differences to be miniscule at best; you could tell the Ref 2 SE sounds special even when standing behind the speakers.

The only downside? I made that same observation about an LS-27 compared to the Ref 5 SE…