Any ARC GSPre owners here ?

Thank you BIF, Lostbears and everyone else,

I am sure as the year wears on, my choice will be more clear. A friend had the Ref 5 SE and Ref 150 (non SE) and it sounded fantastic. Surely a combination I'd love to have someday. The newer SE amps seem like a no brainer.

Thank you for your experiences. I hope to hear the GSPre and Ref 5SE in my system. I'll let you guy know what I hear.

Joe .... if the review I clipped above is correct re the GSPre and GS150, I urge you to call Kal at ARC and ask him for his views.

The GSPre may look pretty, but it's expensive and may be a no-go showboat. IOW, not a cost effective way to spend your bucks.

In addition, if I correctly recalled what Kal told me about the Ref 150 SE, then the GS 150 is another pretty face that does not meaningfully outperform the Ref 150 SE. Yet, the cost delta is significantly more.

It's your money ... spend it as you will. Just trying to help a fellow A'gon pal make a cost effective and informed decision.

Regards,

BIF

BIF,

Yes, Great advice.

In my post above, I meant to mention the Ref 75 SE as an amp choice. I don't feel I need the power of the Ref 150 (SE) class amps and 75 wpc will be enough for me.

I am going for the preamp first because I just purchased a Lampizator Big 7 balanced and a pair of Lampizator fully balanced 211 amps. An amazing combination but want to try a preamp in the chain. I am going direct now and can not believe what I am hearing. I normally prefer a preamp in my system but my current CJ GAT is not balanced.
I think an ARC preamp will, in this case, be a great choice. The only major difference I can see is the GSPre's out impedance is 500 ohms vs 600 for the Ref 5SE. Not sure if that means a whole lot, but I usually prefer the lower output impedance pre in my system.

As I understand it, from on line posts and a review of the GS pre and 150 Power amp,in the UK magazine, HiFi News, the changes are largely cosmetic. There may be differences in the sound, but they are not commensurate with the price difference between the Ref and GS lines. This comment only compares the GS power amp with the SE versions of the 75 and 150, not the original KT120 tubed versions.

Thank you for the clarification David. I agree.