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Advicd Needed on Change from Levinson to Audio Research

Maybe it's just an itch, but I gotta scratch it.

When I was a bit younger, I dreamed of owning Levinson and Audio Research gear. I could never justify the expense. Now I can enjoy their vintage gear!

I have sampled tube components in the past (CJ MV75), but never have made my mind up fully about whether I prefer the tube sound or the SS sound. I gave up on the CJ amp because of the daily tweaks I needed to do to the bias current.

I listen mainly to classical (opera and romantic) and rock (60s - 80s), and a bit of Jazz and Blues.

I presently run the Levinson #38s pre and #27 power amps and have for the five years. My speakers are Revel f208 running full range. I normally listen at about 85-90dB SPL. This measures about 1-3 watts at the speaker inputs in my listening position. I am very happy with the sound. I am currently favoring playing LPs using a Benz LP-S, Micro Seiki MA-505L and Technics SL-1200G. I have a fairly up to date Virtual System posted here on Audiogon.

Would a bit of AR tube sound be even better? Gotta listen for myself obviously.

So, I now have an Audio Research SP-6B coming to me in a few weeks from AR after restoration (eBay purchase). I am considering getting an AR Reference 75 power amp, which appears to be a great tube power amp but a bit pricey. But I could stretch if needed.

I would like to receive comments/suggestions/criticisms about my endeavor.

Should I wait until I have an impression of the SP-6B with the #27 prior to the decision about the Ref 75? Or just get the Ref 75 now? Or???

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

 

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xkevemaher
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cleeds
6,040 posts
 

The SP6B and the Ref 75 are from completely different eras and you're not likely to get the best performance from either by using them together. In particular, the 6B is single-ended while the Reference 75 is balanced. The SP6 is very colored by modern standards, although of course it can still sound sweet.

jasonbourne71's avatar
jasonbourne71
1,278 posts
 

I'd look for a D75/76 amp instead. That would match better with the SP6B. I have a SP6/D75 pair and am pleased with the sound quality.

kevemaher's avatar
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kevemaher OP
108 posts
 

Thanks for the info. I've looked at the D-76. It looks really complicated and expensive to maintain. I can't imagine the trouble involved in biasing all those tubes.

What exactly will prevent me from obtaining the best performance from the sp6/Reference 75 combo?

I understand unbalanced vs balanced. I regularly make my own single ended to balanced cables, both male and female. I also have a transformer for one line.

The remaining parts of my system are balanced. All I would need is to make conversion cables for one SP-6 input (line level, the phono is already unbalanced) and the SP6 output. After that, I'm all balanced.

I don't consider the unbal/bal issue a problem. Juat recently I had a Paragon System E tube preamplifier (ca 1977, so contemporary with the SP6) as my preamp. I connected as I described above. It worked well. Dead quiet at normal listening level. No ground loops.

What am I missing?

 

pwerahera
128 posts
 

I have Mark Levinson 23.5 connected to Thiel 3.6 speakers. My current preamp is Cary Audio SLP03. I am very pleased with this combination. My phono preamp is Audio Research PH5 and I also have Audio Research DAC #3. These are all tube gear. So I don’t see how you can go wrong replacing your SS preamp with a tube preamp.

I am not familiar with AR SP-6B, but I suggest you find a tube preamp with balanced XLR output since you have > 8ft cables running from your preamp to the amp (from your system photos). I also had a VTL 2.5 preamp before Cary and that also worked very well. Hope this helps.

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