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Stupidgood: Ars Sonum

There are lots of "terms of art" used by audiophools to describe sound and equipment. I propose a new one - stupidgood - a piece of equipment that blows you away, as good as it gets (more or less), and the price or the looks of it makes you incredulous as to how good the equipment is. Of course, I did not come with the term; that would by Bobby P. (Mr. von Merlin) describing the Ars Sonum integrated amplifier. I've had separates from ARC, Joule, LAMM, and CAT, and I can tell you, the Ars Sonum is stupidgood driving Merlin VSM-MXes, which can driven very easily be this little 30 watt gem.
pubul57
tabl10s's avatar
tabl10s
1,075 posts
 
Man, I wanted the silver faceplate, but could only get gold.
pubul57 OP
3,712 posts
 
But that gold matches the Merlin brass rods so nicely. As far as I know, the SE version in the lastest version; some modification made in the course of Bobby's discussion with Ricardo.
tabl10s's avatar
tabl10s
1,075 posts
 
Chaz
If it's at least this years production, it's current.
Pub(and other owner's)
What kind of isolation arer you using for the amp?
pubul57 OP
3,712 posts
 
No sophiscated isolation, I have a two shelves (Maple Wood) on a rack with a sandwich between them of cork and rubber (like the Mapleshade stuff). I also use Herbie tube damppers on the small tubes, but frankly, I can hear the difference. If there is ever a MKII, I would not send it back unless there was a one month turnaround, but this thing is so good, I'm not worrying about - really (well, maybe I would worry a little bit). By the way, I was worried about it not being loud enough at 30 watts, well, watts ain't watts (these are Class A and tubes)this integrated has plenty of power for my music and my room (12x19). If you had a very large room that needed a lot more power, you would probably have the mistaken assumption that the Merlins were too small - looks can be deceiving.
pubul57 OP
3,712 posts
 
Ok. I have regained my sanity - I'm not selling the CAT JL2. I was so in love with the Ars Sonum, so overwhlemd by how good it is and enjoyed it so much I thought I would just get rid of the CAT. I was wrong. Not about the Ars Sonum, I love it, it is stupidgood, and it is getting better as it breaks in. I was wrong about the CAT - I realize I can't get rid of her (not an it). I started getting calls for the amp, and I started sweating and feeling anxious, I realized that getting rid of the CAT would leave me feeling great regrets and feeling stupid. Ulitmately, I think the Joule/CAT combo is the best I've heard and it can do things that the Ars cannot do at only 30 watts, etc. But the testament to the Ars is that it made me even think about getting rid of the CAT - it is that good with these speakers. If I had the Ars first I don't think I would upgrade, especially when price and value is taken into consideration. What I will say is you could easily live with the Ars if you could not afford Joule/CAT/Atmasphere, and you might even prefer it on some kind of music (small scale, acoutic, etc). I love both. I'm keeping both - and that's my story.
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