ARC REF Phono 2 in and it's outstanding...

[turntable]

What happened to the Phono REf 2 review

No good ?

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by tonepub

The best part of the job! But I'm jumping off the cliff on this one. It's staying when the review is done.

Hey Jeff, you seem to keep MANY products after your reviews.
Your home must be an Ali Baba's cavern !!

[Tonepub]

Originally Posted by turntable

What happened to the Phono REf 2 review

No good ?

We decided to move it to the Nov. issue and include a factory visit to ARC along with the review...

Nope, it's great. Analog product of the year as a matter of fact. But I'm letting the cat out of the bag for Nov....



Might even buy a 2nd one, as I've got four turntables in the main system, so hate to see the other two getting slighted.

[turntable]

Thanks Jeff

My no good comment was tongue in cheek :-)

I had one for home demo for just over a week before I went on holidays, last week. probably overall the best I have heard except for slight lightness in the mid bass and accompanying drive. I am used to a little more weight in the bass. Its ability to place instruments, performers, studio effects in a musically coherent delivery and soundstage is spooky good. top end is just magical and pure - never thought I would really luv a piece of ARC gear,

I had about 180 hours on it, and bass weight improved significantly in the last 50 hours, so maybe there is a bit more to go.


The inmprovement it gave a couple of my early Dylan mono LP's was very nice.

Only two minor cons for me - would have been great to have two more more gain choices 45db, 52db, 61db and 69db, as my cj gear has high gain, so 69db SE is slightly too high.
Only one ground terminal !! WTF. This was the same with my TW phono. I too have 4 tables and I change carts a lot, so 4 inputs would have been heaven. only having one ground termainal is a royal PITA.

[Tonepub]

It gets way better at 3-400 hours, and it's somewhat thin until then...

I do agree with you on the two grounds, this will be one of my complaints in the review. And I told Dave Gordon at ARC that I would have loved three or four inputs, even if this was an "SE" model that cost a few extra bucks as I have four tables too. Once you get used to the sound of a particular piece of gear, it's hard to go backwards.

However, I think the Vitus Audio Pre will fit into the rotation rather nicely.

[Jerome W]

I'm about to place an order for it this week.
Can you tell me waht is the retail price in the US ? 12k + taxes ?
I will try to get it at 12k euros wich is around 15k dollars here on France, taxes included. I don't want yo pay 15k euros for it so if I can't have a good price here, I will shop direct in the US....or Howie, if you have a good dealer in HK, just let me know, thanks !

[cmalak]

Jerome...yes it retails for $11,995 in the US. One quick suggestion is to ask Jeff how close he thinks the PH8 is to the Ref 2 Phono simply because you may be paying a bit more for functionality in the Ref 2 that you may not use (i.e., 2 inputs, the different EQ curves which are only useful if you have pre-50s LPs, etc...). I believe the circuitry in the PH8 is very very close and you still have the convenience of changing cartridge loading on the fly, like in the Ref 2 Phono. Just a thought. I believe the PH8 in the US retails for $7,995. Good luck with whatever you decide

[Asterisk]

Just a thought. The Ref Phono 2 was introduced in 2009. I don't mean to burst anyone's bubble but there's a possibility that the coupling caps first used in the Ref Anniversary and now the Ref 150 to find it's way to a mark II of the Ref Phono 2.

[Tonepub]

Originally Posted by Asterisk

Just a thought. The Ref Phono 2 was introduced in 2009. I don't mean to burst anyone's bubble but there's a possibility that the coupling caps first used in the Ref Anniversary and now the Ref 150 to find it's way to a mark II of the Ref Phono 2.

Actually, it's the other way around. It all started with the REF Phono 2....

There are no plans on an upgrade for the REF Phono 2 anytime soon.

As for the question on the PH8, I have one on the way for review and will be happy to let you guys know how close the two are. Talking to Warren Gehl at ARC the other day (Warren is pretty much the main "golden ears" guy at ARC), he said that the PH8 is very close to the REF. It does not have quite as big of a power supply, and a smaller tube compliment, but for 8k, will probably be pretty amazing, especially if you don't need two inputs. Personally, I wish the REF had three, but that's probably the exception rather than the rule!

I'll keep you guys posted as soon as I get my hands on the PH8!

[Jerome W]

Cyril, Jeff,

Thanks a lot for the precious advices.
No, I don't need multiple inputs and I don't have pre 50's vinyls.
The difference in price between the Ph8 and the Ref is substantial so if the Ph8 sounds close to the Ref, yes it could be a best deal for me.
Will I wait for Jeff's review of the PH8...
I don't think that any Paris dealer has the Ref on demo, but someone may have the PH8. I will check tuesday as all audio stores are closed on monday in France.
Thanks a lot friends !