Audio research REF 5 SE / REF 40th Ann compared ?

You might want to look at the Ref 40 review in the January 2011 issue of TAS, by, IIRC, Jon Valin. He did refer to the Ref 3 and the Ref 5 in the review.

But not the 5SE.

The 5SE is a lot closer to the 40th AE. But like with most things in hifi, the laws of diminishing returns applies.

If you have the dosh for the AE, by all means get it. It's a limited edition device and is still the reference standard from ARC.

The 5SE makes sense if you already have the 5. The incremental cost IMHO makes it a no brainer to upgrade.

Let's change the Q. Has anyone critically compared the Ref 5 to the Ref 5 SE version? If so, please share comments. I ask because I am on ARC's wait list for the SE upgrade. At this point, because of component supply issues, ARC will likely not get to me until late summer. Btw, the upgrade isn't cheap: $2500. Is it worth it?

Yes.

I had the 5 which I upgraded to the 5SE.

The 5 was a good preamp but the 5SE was just more transparent and more dynamic. Not that the 5 isn't those things. It's just how much better the 5SE was.

I have the REF-5 (2100+ hours) and REF-5 SE (160+ hours) and they do sound different.

To my ears, the immediately appreciable difference is that the SE sounds very together or "coherent". Instruments and sections in a band and orchestra just "feel" very together and operating in concert. It is my first immediate impression within the first 10 hours.

The 5 by itself does not evoke this togetherness or "coherent" sensation or feelings in my listening sessions. It does not overtly lack it, I just would not even detect or think of it when listening to the 5 by itself.

Overall, the SE improves all aspects of 5's capabilities. The improvement, except for the aforementioned quality, is neither subtle nor obvious. I can hear more natural extended realistic highs, richer and more detailed and better resolved mids and definitely tighter and much better controlled lows. From 5 to 5 SE, the changes are not so overwhelming as to be very obvious, but when listening to the two, I can hear the overall differences when taken as a whole.

Personally, I really like the "togetherness" presented by the SE. In comparison, the 5 sounds just a hair laid-back or just a hair mellow. I can be very satisfied with the 5 but the SE makes foot-tapping music.