Preamp - Ayre vs. Audio Research

I see your point stringreen. But some considerations I have might make my system a little unique. I have settled on the D'Agostino Momentum amplifier. It sounds Wonderful powering the Alexias. Unfortunately, the Momentum preamp does not offer a Line Out option. And I want to run a headphone amp and be able to swap to multiple sources. I also plan to feed the D'Agostino amp directly from the Berkeley quite often. Those two considerations make the AR Ref 6 ideal, on paper. It has balanced line out. And it also has the ability to switch one input into bypass mode, eliminating any gain circuitry. I could hook my Berkeley into one input and drive the amp directly. I could use the other active inputs for my other sources. Then use the line outs for my headphone amp. No cable swapping required, ever. But what ultimately matters is the sound.

Very nice! imgoodwithtools.

I will second ,Galen Carol. He is a fine audiophile.

Happy Listening!

Jafant- Alma Audio in San Diego

The AR Ref 6 is here. Anxious to fire it up and have a listen.

Curious to hear what you think of the REF6! 
We've paired both the REF6 and REF 10 with D'Agostino Progressions, and it feels like a perfect match. It's definitely not for the folks who think a preamp should add nothing, as the ARC is definitely in the "additive" category. 
But what it adds, it's impressive indeed. The air, soundstage depth/width, presence, I don't know many preamps that are able to do that.
And I did have the non-Twenty Ayre in the store for a bit, and I thought it was simply too dry, even with the matching Ayre amps.
Anyway, we're going to show the D'Agostino + ARC REF 10 combo at the LA Audio Show next weekend, if anybody's curious...


cheers,
Alex