After fifty years… amazing. What high end audio can be.

@havocman

You must be one of those young whipper snappers… square wire! What will they think of next? Dag nab it, I am going to use wire as God intended it, round… like the Earth.

@ghdprentice  As usual, you provide an insightfull prespective and a positive view of all things Audio... for that, I Thank You.

(Still impressionable at 4 years younger than you) 

@ghdprentice I am there with you just not as nice a room but I have time only 60. No more chasing audio unicorns. I am right where I need to be with either system.

Thanks for all your insight Geoff. Your friend @ Timken.   

@bluorion

Great story about your fun vs reference system.

About ten years ago I had assembled what I considered to be my retirement system. I called it my reference system… because it was so good… but also because it revealed so much. I really enjoyed it.

I always wanted to own a 300b amp. So, decided to upgrade my heardphone system, which I did, big time. It became detailed but warm, natural, and musical.

Then I would listen to my main system and it just wasn’t inviting like my headphone system. I loved listening for about 45 minutes and then get bored. This was not a crappy system. Audio Research Ref 5 preamp. Pass x350 amp, Sonus Faber Olympica 3 speakers. Far less analytical than earlier versions of my system. But it was missing the warmth and musicality of my headphone system.
 

So, I did a bunch of upgrades (basically getting me to the system you see now) to all tube stuff. Reference system gone… seductive natural, musical and detailed system that I no longer get tired of listening to. If I listen to it for three hours, I am always thinking… just one more tune. 

The interesting thing is, I did not loose detail… it just isn’t stuck out in my face. In my reference system the venue stuck out… it was hard not to instantly think about the mastering or the recording quality. With the new system the details are all there, but you have to listen for them if you wanted to hear them. Then I would go to the symphony and realized, that was exactly how they were presented in real acoustical space. What would lead is the music… warm, rich, and inviting from a black background. From the symphony and from my systems now.

This may have nothing to do with your systems. Or maybe it does.

For me, I am very analytical and let my analytical side pull me a bit too much towards greater detail and the more obvious and easily identifiable parameters of sound and overlook rhythm and pace and mid-range bloom that give the sound musicality.

@ghdprentice 

I look forward to hearing your system for the third time.

Truly, about the best and most effortless I have heard in 50 years.

The effortlessness is clearly its forte. Easy to just listen and enjoy.

I have heard systems 2 or 3 times the price that were incredibly detailed and lovely but lacked that ease and were trying.

Believe it is true that your space and set up are, perhaps, your most significant “component”. Although, I think your all ARC front end and amp characterizes the essence of easily digestible SQ. Combined with your beautiful SF speakers.

Over almost 50 years, ARC has advanced the art of tube technology to a place of musicality and reality unique in this industry.

Hearing your system and following advise of others, I bought an ARC Ref 80S amp to run my Quad 57s. While not achieving your level of sound, I did hear drama on vocals I have not heard from any other amp. I am still thinking of going all ARC.

Now I continue trying different amps to push my Quads, I will never forget the sound I got with the Ref 80S and, especially, your system.