audio research REF 150

I called arc on an unrelated topic and spoke with one of the techs and he said that the
Ref 150 driving the new Maggie 3.7s is simply amazing.
The REF 150 is on my Xmas list if business improves by then. :)

Oregonpapa:
New ARC products are always announced as a more or less big revolution in sound quality compared to the replaced model.
The truth is that many still prefer earlier models.
Personally I have used all Reference preamps except Ref5 and the 40 anniversary top model.
Still prefer Ref One...

Ref 150 might be extremely good, but value a ARC employee opinion for what it is. A coloured opinion.

Does anyone have a REF150 ?
Can some owners comment on the sonic attributes of this amp and also what other amp did it replace in your system. REF110, VTM200, VT200, VS115, or others.....

Considering replacing my Classic 120's with a REF150.

Any feedback appreciated.

.
Flex2: I to have owned all of the AR Reference preamps except the Ref5 and anniversary model. Each one was excellent. But to my ears, each new incarnation was better. Pretty much, it comes down to a matter of preference.
.

Just spent a couple full days using a demo 150 with my Martin Logan CLX full range electrostatics. Even though the MLs have a tough impedance that drops to an ohm at high frequencies, the best sounding tap by a large margin was the 16 ohm connection. The sound was very good and reasonably smooth.

Using a computer based RTA, i noticed that the response tilted downward as I moved the taps to the lower connections and sounded progressively better on the highest tap value. (not so good on the lower values)

Very rich and dynamic sounding. The fans are quiet but are audible when anywhere near the amplifier. The dynamics were very good and the amp was quiet even compared to a rock solid Class A Accuphase.