ARC Galileo GSPre vs ARC Reference 5 SE ? ....


Has anyone compared these preamps? Which would you choose and why?
128x128joeinid
Joe ... then why the big secret and ARC's misrepresentations? Just to lock the market on KT-150 tubes. What document are you talking about? How did you come to see such a document?

My guess is that the GS-150 is a Ref 150 in a new skin. The only difference being the KT-150 tubes and possibly (??) different output trannies.

But even still ... Johnny R posted somewhere that he heard the same from Dave Gordon. But when I spoke with Chris Osanna two weeks ago ... a straight denial.

What the heck is going on? Is ARC trying to corner the KT0150 market? I woulda' thunk' they have better ways to make a buck.
Here ya go: I read an article last night reviewing the GS150/GSpre in the Jan Hi-fi
News & Record Review...the reviewer liked pretty much everything except the
response of the meters on the GS150, and thought it was better than the REF150
he had for comparison...he suggested sticking KT150s in the REF to make it
better. As a recent convert from KT120s to KT150s (in my relatively el-cheapo
but world beater Jolida 502p) I can say the 150s are killer tubes and really deliver
the mojo (you know what I mean).
Joe ... I happen to believe that what you are proffering about the KT-150 tube is correct. But again, maybe I blinked, but after re-reading the HI FI News review article, I still did not see where **Warren Gehl** or **Ward Fiebiger** expressly said that the KT-150 tube has been blessed for use in the current Ref series amps.

I also read the Audioshark posting from Mike, the site's founder and webmaster. Forgive my ignorance. But who is Mike and how did he manage to get his hands on a double secret memo from ARC that sprinkled holy water on the KT-150 tube?????

Look, as I mentioned above, Johnny R from Audio Connection, an ARC dealer, posted that he spoke with ARC's Dave Gordon and Dave pretty much said the same as did Mike from Audioshark. Maybe it's the lawyer in me. But I want to see this news come from ARC ... "not so and so heard from ...." or "so and so read some double secret internal memo that said ...." To me, it is all hearsay.

Frankly, I am getting big time annoyed about the whole issue. If this is a sales pitch because ARC wants to sell the KT-150s at double the Upscale price, ... then I am pissed Or, if ARC wants the GS-150 to be received by the market before people figure out that the Ref 150, loaded with KT-150s, sounds 95% as good as the GS-150, and for half the price, then I am double pissed.

Sh*t, I may just take my chances and go for it. I'm a big boy. If I blow the circuits in my Ref 150, ARC can lick its chops fixing my amp.

What crap!!