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ARC's new REF-75

I read Paul Bolin's review of the new REF-75 in AudioBeat and was really taken by it. So, this past weekend I drove down to Newport Beach and attended The S.H.O.W. to take a listen. In spite of the room being a bit bright, I could clearly hear the advantages this amp offers.

The REF-75 is physically beautiful with a kind of retro look. Must have been the meters. I love the looks of this amp! I placed my hand on top of the amp and it was barely warm to the touch. It runs really cool in spite of not having fans. Another advantage ... no fans ... no fan noise.

Right off the bat, the REF-75 was so grain-less, it was simply amazing. The sound comes out of a perfectly black background and the inner detail is amazing with great decay on vocals and simple instrumentals. I love classical guitar and small jazz groups, so this is right up my alley. Vocals were amazingly clear and realistic as well because of the lack of grain. Separation of instruments is another VERY strong point of the REF-75, adding realism to orchestral music. Tonality is one of the first things I listen for ... and this amp is right up there with the best of the ARC amps, including the big REF Monos. The demonstration was made using Wilson Shasha speakers ... 87db, and the meters hardly moved at all even while listening to full orchestral music. The darned thing just coasted no matter what was thrown at it. So, dynamics are terrific ... the amp supposedly uses the same power supply as that in the REF-110, so that would account for the dynamics and particularly good bass punch and depth. Huge sound stage as well. Width, depth and height were more than expected ... in fact, huge in every way.

The REF-75 I listened to at the SHOW was a prototype, but based upon what I heard, I'm buying one later this month. I've owned and/or listened to a lot of ARC amps over the years, and I can say without reservations, that this is one of the very best amps ARC has ever done. The release date is toward the end of June and the retail price is scheduled to be $9,000.00 US. Oh, and if you own a REF-110 ... sell it quick!

As a further note, I visited the Optimal Enchantment room and auditioned the new ARC REF-250 mono blocks. Randy Cooley, the owner of Optimal Enchantment, had the system set up in a suite and really had the system/room dialed in. Randy always has a great demo and has an impeccable taste in music. What I heard in Randy's room this year was simply magic. It had me shaking my head in disbelief wondering how much more information could still be hiding in those record grooves. Was it better than what I heard in the room that demoed the REF-75? Ahem ... it was, after all, Randy Cooley's room. :>)
oregonpapa
johnsonwu
469 posts
 
I somewhat concur with 213Cobra.
I am using speakers of 90dB/W/m efficiency and I am driving them with 30-35W triode mode amps that started their lives as 100W UL or Pentodes (I mod them to triode and run them half-power)
Anytime you parallel tubes in PP mode you add smear no matter how hard you try to match a quad.
Also most "100W" amps use trannies that can barely go 100Ws. By running my amps in half power I get a lot more good headroom from the trannies. Many will say "oh 30W is not enough it distorts when played loud". Guess what? A lot of times its the driver stage wimping out, not the output stage. A well designed amp with a current-stable driver stage will get you all the power you need even with 2 KT88s or EL34s or 6550s on each side.
bvdiman
491 posts
 
Quote: "213cobra---I don't agree. Any combination of hifi gear claiming fidelity can
and should perform any kind of music "well." Perhaps not perfectly, but
certainly well. If it cannot play a full orchestra, Andrew Bird, Jack White, James Blake,
Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars, Gillian Welch, Led Zeppelin, Doc Watson, M.Ward, the
full international catalog of MA Recordings, Sonny Rollins, Gram Parsons, Justin Earl,
Tom Waits, Hound Dog Taylor, Alison Krause, Kate Bush and Maria Callas with equal
credibility, then a system is too skewed to genre."

---------------------------------

I don't see no Sade, Boney M, UB40, Sergio Mendez, Fourplay and the likes? And how
about some '70-'80s Disco and '90s Techno? ;p

I too have taken that so called 'purist' route (less is more thinking) at one time and have
enjoyed them quite immensely. Too many stuffs to list within that decade or so. Two of
the best sounding and most memorable amps that I have owned amongst the low
powered ones was AN Ongaku, and for mid powered unit, the VTL90 WE300Bs Triode
Monos (modified). Agree that they could sound magical, bordering surreal at times,
tears, goosebumps--aplenty for sure. Play some Ella, Nina Simone, Carol Sloane, Shirley
Horn etc. you'll be transfixed by the pureness of tone and lit from within quality that
good SET amps provide--they'll melt you for sure--literarily. But put the wrong music
at the wrong volume--they falter. Realizing then that my system began dictating my
music buying choice--I moved on.

In the end, which ever route one chose to take, it should be *music* first, and not
otherwise. As the saying goes--"There are many roads to Rome.." *Keep a
GPS handy in case you get lost! :)
johnsonwu
469 posts
 
The 30-35wpc amps I have can play almost everything other than Telarc 1812 to very convincing and satisfying volumes.
Eagles hotel California, Roxy Music, Mahler 9, La Valse, and piano pieces played by Pollini (they cause under powered amps to wimp out more than anything). No need to go ultra-non-linear.
bvdiman
491 posts
 
Note the music I listed do not necessarily tax on watts/current, but more of speed, continuos mid bass punch/power/drive/agility.

Honestly, my turning point and what got me to re-think my whole set-up was when some friends, took few CDs off my rack--a couple of R&Bs, UB40, Sergio, and the Hugh Masakela's Stimela and played them on my then Ongaku, Tannoy, ML 30.5/31.5 (Jadis, EAD D/A as alternative) set up. They blasted them way up (not to room pressurizing level yet btw.), soon enough began winching and one commented.. "Why the hell spent so much when you can't even get to enjoy some real music properly". Sad, but quite true.. Bass was there--plenty, but just couldn't catch up in the speed, control and socks dept, and those 'continuos bass drives' at 'continuos loudness level' sure is a spell for disaster causing lower powered amps to clip and get mushy much too soon.

Hence, the prelude of my new quest.. VTL90s and on and on and on.. Got too engrossed into modifying this one, spent too much time and money on them, was basically listening to tubes, resistors, caps, wirings etc2 day in day out that music was no longer top priority--thought this was wrong, so sold them, but regretted since. (and yes, I think this particular VTL is a keeper, if ever they re-release, I'll buy them over).

Back to ARC new Ref series amps. Their availability, price, power, brand, good after sales service and re-salability in my country is what, for me, make them an attractive buy--the whole complete package. In a well balanced enough system, with some good simple tweaking, you could certainly ameliorate their weakness (if any), fortify on their strengths and make them sing--no problem, ime.
213cobra
885 posts
 
I agree that many SET amps aren't versatile. Like any other topology, only a few examples excel across genres.

I was late to SET for this reason. In the 90s, all examples were slow and rounded, and crossover-based speakers didn't leverage them well. I tried single driver speakers but they were too colored with shout and glare at the time, most also lacking any reasonable power handling.

I found two breakthroughs in sequence. Audion's 845 mono amps combined real dynamic muscle with SET finesse, and Audion's circuits all sound uniquely "fast." Faster than push-pull amps. The second breakthrough was finding Zu's full range driver speakers, especially the Definition.

101db efficiency from a speaker that can also take a 1000 watts amp is a remarkable thing. Crossoverless coherence, near-electrostatic speed, and the dynamic response to pressure a room on 25w changed the equation.

The combination will play the 1812 Overture, and UB40, as well as Dusty Springfield or a solo piccolo recording. But then Definition is a speaker good to below 20hz if your room supports it, and gets to 101db on the first watt, 1 meter from the speaker. Most people in all of audio have never heard this, and it's not only Zu that can put you in the realm.

Point is, I don't let the gear determine the music I listen to on it and no one else should either. Today's market gives everyone options for more convincing fidelity from simpler gear, more akin to what instruments and voices sound like, but those options aren't generally coming from the best known brands and their design rut.

Phil
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