The New Audio Research Reference 6
. This new look is going to have to grow on me. I love the look of the toggle switches of old also, but to me, the Ref 5SE was the best looking preamp ARC ever made. A close second is the very rare LS10 Audio Research LS10 . |
Mitch...I never really liked the LS10. I was an ARC dealer for many years and have personally owned almost all of the ARC preamps. I still like the toggles :-) Bdp24...yeah, all the features on the older ARC preamps were indeed very nice. Gundam91...if you ever want to sell your GNSC Ref2MKI, let me know. IMHO, that's the best ARC preamp ever made, (well for my tastes and listening biases anyway). |
Gundam91 says "i'm soooo behind". I am soooo behind too with my REF3LE with GNSC reference mods. Although i did have a GNSC modded REF2 MKI for a while and liked it a lot, i would not trade my LE for anything. In a head to head comparison with a REF5SE i had borrowed from an ARC dealer in Montreal when it first came out, i could not bring myself to trading in my LE (with more cash) on a REF5SE for very little (if any) sonic improvement. Geez, i am still using a pair of GNSC modded Classic 120's with balanced inputs. Likewise, i do miss the toggle switches of old. I have owned an SP9, SP14, LS16MKI, REF2MKI, REF Phono, PH3SE, DAC2, DAC7, but can't let go of the Classics. The REF3LE is a collector's piece as only 20 or so units were made at the end of the REF3 production run and half of those were 240V units destined for the European and Asian markets. That leaves only 10 units in circulation within the US and Canada. My unit is even more special as it has the GNSC mods that brings the sonic level very close to the REF5SE. "Special" also as GNSC is now defunct. As i am now retired and working part time in a job that does not pay very much, i just can't get on the trade in, trade up, get gear modded band wagon anymore. So i'm just holding on to my old ARC GNSC modded gear (including a REF Phono 2 not SE) that still brings me musical joy. |
. Mofi, the LS10 had a Jekyll-Hyde personality. When it was good, it was one of the best preamps I'd ever heard. But it was sooo unpredictable, on some recordings there would be so many missing instruments and it drove me crazy. On some recordings, it would leave out the background singers. I got rid of it and got the Ref2 Mk2...which was an awesome preamp. However, I could not get the LS10 out of my mind, so I bought it again two years later. Still the same old Jeckyll-Hyde act. I got rid of it again and got the Ref3 and have been in nirvana ever since. But, since the LS10 was sooo good when it was good, I've been wondering if ARC has improved on their solid state preamp technology in the nearly 20 years since the LS10. If so, I'd jump on one of them in a heartbeat. I never see anything on the 'Gon about ARC solid state preamps. It seems only the tube preamps get all the discussion. On its best days, the LS10 was something special. It had the blackest background I'd ever heard..it was almost scary. Image, layering and soundstage was mind-boggling. I think I'll buy one again and stash it if one ever appears for sale here again. They NEVER show up for sale here. . |
