ARC Ref 5se inferior to LS28?

I agree with jmcgrogan2.

However, I will say that that the Anniversary and REF 10 are in a completely different world, cost wise and sound wise, than the REF3/5 and 5SE.

I would love to hear a REF 6 and REF 10 side by side.  That would be interesting.

I've heard a REF 10.  it was magical.  I thought it better than the Anniversary pre-amp.

But we are talking about two pre-amps that aren't in the same league as the others. 

They are almost cost no object devices.

enjoy

For the consumer able to buy a REF 6 or 10 new, value may not be a concern! For the buyer of a cost-no-object, advancing-the-State-Of-The-Art product, future developments will be dealt with when they appear, the possibility of a new, even-higher level product that makes obsolete their current model to be expected at that elevation. By obsolete, I don’t mean no longer as good sounding as it had been, but rather that no further improvements to it will be offered, all further R & D being put into the new model that replaces it. More like a "dead" product than an obsolete one. As testpilot said, long-term ARC consumers know this to be ARC’s modus operandi. I wonder how many REF pre-amps ARC sells in a model run?

In 7 months, 300 REF 6 were sold.  300 x $12000 = $3,600,000

sales from 12/2015 to7/2016

There are not a few people that will buy something that costs 50K who would not touch exact same  item were it priced at 25K .

There are not a few people that will buy something that costs 50K who would not touch exact same item were it priced at 25K .

Very true. There are a LOT of folks out there with FU money.

VAC’s top of the line products were less than $20K each until they released the Statement line a couple years ago, now each chassis will cost you $50K a pop.
And guess what? Folks are lining up and offering to pay more $$$ to have their VAC Statements made in custom colors. Go figure.

VAC is not alone, look at ARC’s Anniversary and Ref 10.
Just about every single manufacturer has a top of the line item today that is at least 2-3 times the price of their top of the line 8-10 years ago.

The audio industry is simply a reflection of the global economy. The rich keep getting richer, and the poor poorer. The industry is just chasing the money, by giving their clients what they want.