New Audio Research Reference 150 SE

mine is in MN for the upgrade and the repair i mentioned. will revert my experiences in a month+ once i get it broken in, as kal mentioned several coupling caps were changed in the upgrade and cap formation takes time...

Nirvana is reached at the 200 to 300 hour mark.

Oregonpapa ... I'm over a hundred hours and am probably "there" for the most part. But ... my Ref 150 was already well broken-in prior to the SE upgrade. Kal said the new SE upgrade parts (e.g., coupling caps) only need about 125 hours or so to break-in.

In contrast, you bought a new Ref 75 SE off the line. If the usual ARC break-in period guidelines still apply, you're only half way there.

Enjoy. I already am enjoying.

Bifwynne...

Pleased to hear that your decision to upgrade is delivering for you, were you advised as to the full parts list involved in the upgrade? and could you clarify please that Kal was referring to the main 2 Micro Farad/350V coupling caps? As folks should be made aware that an element of the SE upgrade kit may well replace their units Teflon CC's with the newer Gold PP film capacitor of Capacitor Gate fame.

Tsushima, I do not know which parts were replaced. The only "obvious" change that I can perceive is the coupling caps. They are still white, but slightly different looking. That's about all I can say. I have no real idea about what else was done ... above or below the circuit board.

All I can say is that the amp sounds better than it did before. Kal told me off the cuff that the Ref 150 SE is roughly equivalent in SQ to the GS-150.