ctsooner Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 totally agree with Jim. I owned Ayre integrateds and was first with their QX5/20. They make products that are so neutral that they are neither tube, nor SS sounds. They are so detailed, but balanced and throw a very realistic sound stage. The noise floor is ridiculously low as they build their own high freq power filter into their units. I love their gear, but it's not euphoric AT ALL. ARC is as solid a company as there is. It's no wonder they are used with Vandersteen speakers for all these years. They just sound 'right'. Up and down their line. Their 'voicing' guy (I forget his name) has been there since day one I believe. That's probably why their sound never wavered from what it started as. Their tube gear is built like a tank and sounds incredible on anything. They could sell for much more than they do if they wanted to put them in prettier cases. I personally like their 30k amps better than the 100k plus Boulder amps. Can't go wrong with either choice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 (edited) REF75SE arrive home safetly! Now i need to find a PREAMP. i saw used LS27.. is it good option. or should i keep looking for a better match. 😄 ty Edited January 24, 2022 by Mike LS 27 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctsooner Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 It's a wonderful preamp and match. Most any of the AR preamps will match nicely as it's their house sound and built to go together. That said, it's also a GREAT preamp still. The 28 sounds better, but how much better? It would all depend on your system. I LOVE the 27. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmz Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 (edited) I am curious… Has anyone tried the Benchmark ABH2? It is a Class-G I think? (Or maybe Class-H?) And what class are those Vandy HPA M5 and M7 amps? (I seem to recall that they were different than AB.) Edited January 25, 2022 by Holmz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctsooner Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 I heard it once in an all Benchmark system. I forget the speakers though as it was awhile back. It was a nice sounding system, but not my cup of tea. I honestly can't even remember what teh sound was like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Vandersteen Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 20 minutes ago, Holmz said: I am curious… Has anyone tried the Benchmark ABH2? It is a Class-G I think? (Or maybe Class-H?) And what class are those Vandy HPA M5 and M7 amps? (I seem to recall that they were different than AB.) They are a very rich AB Push Push output stage. All tube or NPN devices not Quasi complementary but two identical single-ended circuits with the speaker tied between the two. RV 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomicTime Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Pete - You were thinking of Warren Gehl of Audio Research. For Mike in Israel, knowing you are in used but high quality market, the LS-27 would be a superb pairing with the Ref75, congrats on that by the way !,,,, Best to you Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctsooner Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 That's him Jim (rhyming now). What an amazing story that few know. Shaped (literally) a whole company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 I successfully used 2s with an Ayre V5xe and with Arcam P1 mono amps. They would be a much better choice for the speakers, and less expensive, than the Audio Research Ref 75. And, I'm an Audio Research fan. You're just going to need more oomph for the 2s. I tried my 2s with an Audio Research VT100 mk3 and that worked well. But, they seem to come to life with more power. The Ref 75 is a great amp. Just not in combination with the 2s. If you had Quatros, or something with the self-powered bass, you could definitely use the Ref 75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 I see you got a Ref 75. Enjoy! Make sure you try the 8 ohm taps as well as the 4 ohm taps. I found my 2s worked best with the VT100mk3 on the 8 ohm taps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, Moose said: I successfully used 2s with an Ayre V5xe and with Arcam P1 mono amps. They would be a much better choice for the speakers, and less expensive, than the Audio Research Ref 75. And, I'm an Audio Research fan. You're just going to need more oomph for the 2s. I tried my 2s with an Audio Research VT100 mk3 and that worked well. But, they seem to come to life with more power. The Ref 75 is a great amp. Just not in combination with the 2s. If you had Quatros, or something with the self-powered bass, you could definitely use the Ref 75. I tried the ref75 se VS Ayre VX -5 twenty head to head with signature III . I agree with you that the Ayre doing few things better, but Ref75 bring some magic into them. Definitely more musical to my ears, and I didn’t miss any bass, maybe less punch but I didn’t thought of it lacking power to drive them for the volumes I listen. Edited January 25, 2022 by Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 It might be the SE version that doing it more capable to drive them, the 75 running KT120 tubes. The SE version KT150 which are more powerful, still 75w but definitely has more Oomph and meat to it. Details are there like the Ayre. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boom Boom Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 If you're still looking for a preamp replacement, I doubt you could go wrong by pairing an ARC preamp with your ARC amp. That would be a good recommendation. If you like the glorious tube sound, and want to consider other makes, I would consider Vacuum Tube Logic (VTL). There are other really good tube preamps, The Audible Illusions Modulus comes to mind. But, the ARC and the VTL tube gear are at the top of my tube list. It's been too long since I've heard Conrad Johnson. They were nice but too slow for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 Hi Mike: I'm glad you found the magic. That's what the the Ref 75 will bring to the game. And, why it's hard to recommend an amp without knowing the listener. And, since you've found and like what the Ref 75 brings to the game, you're going to like what the vandersteens do. It's kind of subtle, but that recreation of space and tonal color is just addictive. If you're looking for a used ARC tube preamp, the Ref 5 is a big step up from the Ref 3, sonically. The Ref 6 and 6SE are great, and an improvement over the 5. But not as big an improvement as going from the 3 to the 5. Depends on your budget. Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmz Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 19 hours ago, Boom Boom said: If you're still looking for a preamp replacement, I doubt you could go wrong by pairing an ARC preamp with your ARC amp. That would be a good recommendation. If you like the glorious tube sound, and want to consider other makes, I would consider Vacuum Tube Logic (VTL). There are other really good tube preamps, The Audible Illusions Modulus comes to mind. But, the ARC and the VTL tube gear are at the top of my tube list. It's been too long since I've heard Conrad Johnson. They were nice but too slow for me. VTL was great when I could drop off the gear on the way to mountains. But gets a bit difficult to repair when one is more remote. (Now I just have a working mono block, and another dead monoblock carcass) The Audible Illusions Modulus has not had a hiccup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 8, 2022 Author Share Posted February 8, 2022 Hey guys . I haven’t got a Preamp yet. sadly the ref5/6 is too expensive for me at that point . Im going to try a vtl 5.5 and Tsakiridis Alexander. I will update next week. might also try the Arc ls27 which is also a bit above my budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctsooner Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 That 27 is a GREAT preamp and worthy of your consideration. I personally like the ARC preamps better than VTL's (which I do like). The ARC plays great with the Vandersteen's (it's why nearly all their dealers carry both brands). You can always find them used. Maybe try and make some lower offers and see if anyone bites. Happens all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregon Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 2Ce Sig's sound pretty fantastic with a VTL preamp plus a VTL power amp feeding a Clearaudio/Manley/Kiseki phono front end. Cheers, Cody 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmz Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 (edited) On 2/7/2022 at 8:47 AM, Holmz said: VTL was great when I could drop off the gear on the way to mountains. But gets a bit difficult to repair when one is more remote. (Now I just have a working mono block, and another dead monoblock carcass) … The good news in that the VTL monoblocks are back in action from a local electronics repair shop. Has anyone listened to a Supratec preamp? I’ll try and get a tour/demo in a month or two. Edited June 15, 2022 by Holmz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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