Audio Research Ref 5 and Krell amps

Tyler,

The difference went far beyond the AE being more neutral. The attack was so much more dynamic it was amazing, I agree I never thought I'd use the word thin to describe the Ref 5 which was my own personal reference for a few years but compared to the AE? Hate to say it but it is!

Cool...it's great to find a component that really works in your system

I will let the SE break-in some and then bring the AE over to compare. I won't be able to replicate your experience as I will use Ref 250 monos for the "cage match" and I think you use a 3 channel Evo. I use Transparent Ultra throughout... But speakers will be the same...Sasha right...wonderful speaker. I expect differences but not dramatic...much like the improvements the 250s provided over the 150...but will report what I hear.

Bottom line is you are happy regardless of whether 5SE is 95 or 99% of AE...all three of these preamps are great. And at this level we discuss relative changes...and the price people are willing to pay for those is highly dependent on individual preference...and there is no right answer...just some answers cost more than others. :)

Hi Tylercoupe:
I have Ref 150 and Sashas and am quite happy with the combo. But as you know the Sashas are difficult to drive in the mid- upper bass/low midrange between the impedance and negative phase angle. I'd like more thrust there but at reasonable cost.
When I had WP 7s and tried Ref 110s and 210s. I found, as you did with Ref 150 vs 250, that the lower powered model came close enough that I stuck with the Ref 110s. The biggest differences I found were a greater sense of dimension and ease with Ref 210s. I did not find the dynamics on the 210s to be more than 10% better than the 110s. Have you tried both amps with Sashas? Can you quantify the differences esp in the mid/upper bass?

Ture Dat Tyler!

FWIW I use Transparent Ref XL in my rig, love their cables!

Kenny,

Enjoy your system...I think our system structures are remarkably similiar. I have a hybrid system similiar to yours which does double duty as HT/2 channel system. I have an Ayre KX-R in between the Classe ST-SSP and the ARC Ref 250s...When the SSP turns on a HT source...the Ayre and 250s trigger on as well with Ayre in passthrough mode...Rest of HT is 2 JL212s, Wilson Center 3 and Surrounds 2 powered by DS450M(C3) and DS225(S2).The HT sounds wonderful using an Ayre DX5.

But when I want to listen to my Naim HDX server/DAC8 or LP12SE/Phono2SE...I just turn on the Ayre and 250s manually...and listen to a reasonably good 2 channel system. All three soucres flow balances through the Ayre

Easy for family to use and satisfies me for critical listening. I think you found a similiar solution with your setup.

here are some pics of how my setup turned out...also shows my study system based on Stax stats and Woo audio energizer...go to my gallery

http://gallery.me.com/npdomino/100048