Ref 150 vs Vs115 vs Ds225

[kfr01]

Well, I made the classic mistake of going to the local audio dealer when I am already (or so I thought) pretty satisfied with my current system.

Things my ears and brain heard or learned today (your milage may vary):

(a) the Vandersteen 5A Carbon has better highs than the 5A. Bugger, now that upgrade will need to be on the agenda at some point!

(b) the Vs115 is a very musical and fun amplifier and has fantastic tube texture with a bit of bloomy warmth;

(c) the Ds225 is not as musical and fun as the Vs115, and gives up the texture and warmth, but seems to lock imaging better than the Vs115 and presents a much faster attack. I preferred the Ds225's detailed and fast presentation to that of the Vs115.

(d) and here's the rub... the Ref 150 provided the best of both worlds. The speed, imaging and attack of the Ds225 was provided as well as the musicality, fun, and texture of the Vs115.

(e) more rub: the Ref 150 went beyond mere addition of the best qualities of the Vs115 and Ds225: it provided a certain three dimensionalism and level of context that simply wasn't provided by either the Vs115 or the Ds225. A room of 4 of us were using the 1970 Du Pre / Barenboim Elgar Cello Concerto for some of our demoing. The three dimensionalism provided by the Ref. 150 was really striking on this track. The recording includes a number of coughs, with the Ds225 the coughs sounded like they were coming from the same dimensional plane as Du Pre's violin playing. Shoot, it sounded like a man was coughing up on stage with Du Pre. The Ref. 150, on the other hand, correctly placed the coughs in context as to the side and far to the rear of Du Pre's solo. Everything else followed suit. Fantastic imaging and context. The four of us in the room were all blown away by the step-up provided by the Ref. 150. My dad, who isn't an audiophile (he believes the prices of hifi to be silly), but who is a very serious fan of music, said afterword: "I didn't think there'd be a big difference between the first two amplifiers and the expensive one (the 150), but there very plainly was."

Damn, I better start saving for the Ref. 150....

[Toobs]

Karl
You're hooked Resistance is futile

[kfr01]

Originally Posted by Toobs

Karl
You're hooked Resistance is futile

I was really impressed with the 150. Somehow ARC achieved solid state speed in a beautifully sounding and resolving tube amplifier.

[cmalak]

Karl...I was going to say my Ref 110 had the VS115 beat, so I was sure the Ref 150 was going to be at another level. I have to say ARC and Vandies are a damn good combo. You can't go wrong. If your local dealer ever gets a Ref 110 traded in towards a Ref 150, you could give that a shot if you wanted to save some moolah but I suspect now that you have tasted what the 150 has to offer, it will be tough to accept anything less . Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

[kfr01]

Originally Posted by cmalak

Karl...I was going to say my Ref 110 had the VS115 beat, so I was sure the Ref 150 was going to be at another level. I have to say ARC and Vandies are a damn good combo. You can't go wrong. If your local dealer ever gets a Ref 110 traded in towards a Ref 150, you could give that a shot if you wanted to save some moolah but I suspect now that you have tasted what the 150 has to offer, it will be tough to accept anything less . Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

Cyril: My thoughts exactly --- I hate paying new retail, so my parting words to the dealer were to keep an eye out for a Ref 110 trade-in.

[Ritmo]

Karl,

Looks like you had a good experience through the comparos. Interestingly, the path to improve appears to be pretty clear. You are in a good place!

Mike

[kfr01]

Mike: Of course, the DAC 8 and the ARC Ref 5, which you know well, were helping to drive the whole thing. This ARC stuff is addicting. So very musical. :-)

[Ritmo]

Mike