ARC ref 5SE current or past owners

10-17-15: Icorem
Hi again
I had the Ref5SE for home audition for the past 2 days.
As anticipated I had impedance matching problems with my Audionet MAX amps. In XLR - total mess but in RCA it worked fine when the volume was at 50 and up. It sounded then much better than my current pre but I won't take it because of these synergy problems. My lesson was however that i have much to upgrade in the preamp department. As previously said I might eventually buy blindly the matched Audionet preamp but until then I will try to audition some more. Any recs ?

Your result is not surprising. Checkout a VAC Signature MKIIa SE or higher. My Sig MKIIa has no problems driving my Hegel H30 with a 4M XLR. I think H30 input impedance is 20kΩ XLR | 10kΩ RCA.

BIF
When hooked to the RCA input the ref5 sounded very good but as I said the volume level was at 50 and up so I won't go for the ref5 as these limitations might cause problems in the future.

BDP24 - can you elaborate a little bit ? I didn't understand exactly what do you mean by "improve test bench specs". Do you think Audionet is trying to push the owners away from high output impedance tube preamps...?

Icorem, you posted that "[w]hen hooked to the RCA input the ref5 sounded very good but as I said the volume level was at 50 and up so I won't go for the ref5 as these limitations might cause problems in the future." With respect, your post is a bit of a non sequitur. The volume control level setting is not a limitation per se that will a fortiari cause problems in the future.

That said, if you find a linestage/pre that sounds better when hooked up to your AudioNet MAX, ... definitely go for it. In audio, there is no such thing as one size fits all.

Bif
I totally agree with you, but when other owners say that their volume level rarely go over 40, I think it has something to do with the impedance ratio between the units and the long IC between the amps and the pre.
I've yet to find a better solution but will probably audition the Constellation 1.0 line stage or buy blindly the Audionet pre g2...

Icorem ... again, if you find a better match for your awesome looking AudioNet MAX mono amps, then you most definitely should go for it. If you are still in the investigative stage, keep looking.

But I think the volume control setting on the Ref 5 SE is only relevant if you are not able to drive your amp to full power. The amp's 37K ohm RCA input impedance is well above ARC's recommended minimum.

I have 2 suggestions, but only if you have any continuing interest in the Ref 5 SE. One ... if you think you kinda' like the Ref 5 SE match, call Kal at ARC customer service and share your concerns with him. It's a fair technical issue that deserves a technically competent answer.

Two ... if Kal assures you that the volume setting question is a non-issue, then give the Ref 5 SE a serious road test. IMO, it's a great pre, but not the only great pre out there.

That said, if you have moved on and the Ref 5 SE is not on your short list, ... well ok then. Keep looking.

Sorry to perseverate. I just don't think the volume control setting is a key issue. FWIW, I am listening to DG Mozart piano sonatas CDs, played off my ARC Ref CD-8. My Ref 5 SE's volume control is set at 70. Speaker SPLs are just fine. If I move the volume to 80, my ears hurt. And that leaves 24 clicks to go.

Cheers,

BIF