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Audio Research State of the Art Audio Reproduction

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  #21  
Old 09-26-2015, 09:46 PM
TLi TLi is offline
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Passlabs first produces Xs series amp, Xs300 and Xs150. I have a pair of Xs150 so I know the sound. Xs amp has very warm and tube like sound, typical Class A amp.

When they developed Xs preamp, it was certainly voiced against the Xs amp. To balance the sound, Xs preamp naturally has a faster and tighter sound. So if you want to keep Xs preamp, you may want to try the whole set. Xs300 should have enough juice to drive your Q7. My Xs150 drives my M Project very well.
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  #22  
Old 09-26-2015, 11:37 PM
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doggiehowser doggiehowser is offline
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It isn't in the same price league but I'm waiting for PS Audio's new preamp to see how it stacks up against the Ref 5SE.

Would love to see what Arnie Nudell and Bascom King have cooked up.

It's still a tube preamp tho.. but with 2 tubes instead of 4, should be more cost effective particularly when u use HT bypass a lot.

Thats one of the downsides of my ARC Ref5SE as well. I think more than half of the bulb hours are burnt on movies in HT bypass mode.
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  #23  
Old 09-26-2015, 11:42 PM
tima tima is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TOGA View Post
Well, I am thinking the way to keep Ref40 while bringing in new XS Pre too. The 6550c that came with it were SED. The Sovtek were 6H30. Regarding tubes rolling, that is exactly what I don't wanna do. I want something that is consistently good night and day. With predictable sound quality 24/7. That's what I am looking for. I really don't have much time to do day-to-day tuning. So SS is what I am looking now. One hope is that it will match te musicality that Ref40 provided to me since 2010.

Toga
If you prefer not to deal with the variability of tubes, swapping tubes will not address your issue. Obviously you do your own due diligence. If you can say what you want without pointing at the Ref 40, ask in forums whose manufacturer's offer solid-state products that interest you.
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  #24  
Old 09-27-2015, 05:17 PM
ariess ariess is offline
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Retubing costs 1%-1.5% of the price of ARC preamps. Doesn't seem like a lot. You would get many years of enjoyment for less than 10% of the unit. I am not sure why someone would be willing to buy the unit but not 10% more for long term use.
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  #25  
Old 09-27-2015, 07:11 PM
asiufy asiufy is offline
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Originally Posted by ashandger View Post
Have heard lots of very positive comments about the Dartzeel NHB -18B preamp. They have just updated it as well. Supposed to be very natural and transparent. Lots of reviews online. Hope this helps. Fremer uses it in his system.
+1

That would be my #1 choice too.
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  #26  
Old 09-27-2015, 07:17 PM
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cmalak cmalak is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ariess View Post
Retubing costs 1%-1.5% of the price of ARC preamps. Doesn't seem like a lot. You would get many years of enjoyment for less than 10% of the unit. I am not sure why someone would be willing to buy the unit but not 10% more for long term use.
Ariess...not sure that's right (depends on model I guess). For my Ref 3, ARC is quoting me closer to $600 which puts it at 6% of original cost ($9,995) and $400 and change for my CD 7 which puts it at around 5% of original cost and $1,000 for my Ref 110 which is about 10% of original cost but that makes sense because of the number and cost of output tubes. Interestingly, I can get same tube complement from Tube Store at 50% of what ARC is quoting me for the three components to be retubed. Of course, the difference is ARC testing the tubes and throwing out those that don't meet their standards.
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  #27  
Old 09-27-2015, 08:24 PM
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analog brother analog brother is offline
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keep the ref 40.
you can't beat valve sound.
try different valves, and just accept the 'tube way of life'.
if you are still looking, try the vtl 7.5 mk3.
vtl pre has only 2 valves and is a good electronic match with gryphon power amp.
try it if you can.
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  #28  
Old 09-27-2015, 08:42 PM
ariess ariess is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cmalak View Post
Ariess...not sure that's right (depends on model I guess). For my Ref 3, ARC is quoting me closer to $600 which puts it at 6% of original cost ($9,995) and $400 and change for my CD 7 which puts it at around 5% of original cost and $1,000 for my Ref 110 which is about 10% of original cost but that makes sense because of the number and cost of output tubes. Interestingly, I can get same tube complement from Tube Store at 50% of what ARC is quoting me for the three components to be retubed. Of course, the difference is ARC testing the tubes and throwing out those that don't meet their standards.

If you look at The Tube Store online you can enter any ARC make and model and see the price of retubing. For the Ref 10 which is a $30k preamp, the price to retube is $371 which is like 1.3% of the purchase price. The others are similar with some more like 2%. If I am an audiophile as most of us are, I don't see coming up with 1-2% of my purchase every year or so as prohibitive. Now you can pay more by tube rolling, getting tubes from ARC, etc. But if you are cost conscious, those are not necessary.
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  #29  
Old 09-28-2015, 05:18 PM
microstrip microstrip is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ashandger View Post
Have heard lots of very positive comments about the Dartzeel NHB -18B preamp. They have just updated it as well. Supposed to be very natural and transparent. Lots of reviews online. Hope this helps. Fremer uses it in his system.
I have compared the NHB18B with my ARC REF40 using a Dartzeel NH108b amplifier and in my system I preferred and kept the REF40. People are still waiting for delivery of the new DartZeel preamplifier, that is supposed to sound better.
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  #30  
Old 09-29-2015, 03:45 AM
Kingsrule Kingsrule is offline
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Robert Koda
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