Audio Research releases Its 40th Anniversary Preamp

[microstrip]

Is one of the advantages the Ref 5 has is a lower noise floor?
I appreciate for quite a few this may not be a critical issue, but for others if it is even slightly audible then this may be one reason to upgrade to Ref 5.
I hate any hiss, even when it is pretty subtle, strange years ago it never bothered me.

Cheers
Orb

The noise floor of the Anniversary and of the REF5 is very low, both in the measurements and listening. Looking at the published the specifications it is the same for both units:
Noise
1.7uV RMS residual IHF weighted balanced equivalent input noise with volume at 1 (109dB below 2V RMS output.)

This value is 3dB better than the old REF3.

The quoted figures will degrade in the unbalanced (single ended) mode, as the hum noise contribution will not cancel.

My speakers are the low efficiency Soundlabs, so hiss was never an issue in my system. Curiously the Anniversary seems subjectively to have a lower noise floor. An Audiogon member is using the Anniversary preamplifier with an Wavac HE833 amplifier and some fantastic custom made 106 dB/W horns, so it must be really noise free! See it at

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vopin&1245189567

 

[Orb]

Thanks Microstrip and not surprised, I feel this is part of what you pay for - stunning noise floor.
Looking at HifiNews they measured the Ref5 a-weighted s/n 0dBV at 97db, thats impressive.
At his measurement site, both the Ref5 and Anniversary can be found with complete measurements.
I am curious if the LS27 is better than the Ref3 in terms of measurements including noise, that maybe the bargain SOTA tube preamp, however I think the Ref5 and Anniversary are worth their prices.

Thanks
Orb

 

[microstrip]

2 of these bad boys have popped up on the 'gon. Curious what the owners are moving to...

Although the sellers were asking about 70% and 75% retail, both seem to be sold in 24 h. Good news for Audio Research. I only wish some other equipment I have owned could have similar devaluation - very often expensive gear used values decreases to 50% immediately after buying . And finding a buyer is not immediate.

Let us hope that the new owner will be as pleased with it as I am.

 

[caesar]

Another great review of this preamp from the Audio Beat. But again, the reviewer fails to compare it to other top preamps out there like BAT, VTL, CJ, etc., so we really don't know what its relative strengths and weaknesses.

http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/audio_research_reference_anniversary.htm

 

[LL21]

Ah...totally agree with you, Steve. I could see it staying at 65-75% of MSRP for between 3-4 years.

Well...based on the 2 asking prices of 70%-75% and selling within 24h as per Microstrip, will be interesting to see how long it stays above the 65% mark.

 

[marty]

Steve,
As you know, I upgraded to the VTL 7.5 Mk III about 6 months ago. With NOS Tele ECC82's, my preamplifier search is over. I just love this thing. It is a masterpiece. A "best of both worlds" approach. Typical tube grandeur, great bass and it's SS output section can drive long cable lengths. I would love to hear or read about a head to head serious comparison to the ARC Anniversary however.

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?1089-VTL-7.5-MK-II-preamplifier&p=33966#post33966

 

[microstrip]

I am sure that the new VTL 7.5 mkIII is an excellent preamplifier. But as I referred several times, an "head to head serious comparison to the ARC Anniversary" is meaningless. At this level of performance, the outcome will be dominated by the system synergy and listener preference. Unless you have a good cable matching you can not exploit the best of each preamplfiier.

I would also like to read a review of the 7.5mkIII - but just for information and enjoyment. Detailed technical information about the upgrade from mkII to mkIII is almost unknown.

BTW, the Anniversary does not need a NOS Tele to sound great ...

 

[Steve Williams]

I am sure that the new VTL 7.5 mkIII is an excellent preamplifier. But as I referred several times, an "head to head serious comparison to the ARC Anniversary" is meaningless. At this level of performance, the outcome will be dominated by the system synergy and listener preference. Unless you have a good cable matching you can not exploit the best of each preamplfiier.

I would also like to read a review of the 7.5mkIII - but just for information and enjoyment. Detailed technical information about the upgrade from mkII to mkIII is almost unknown.

BTW, the Anniversary does not need a NOS Tele to sound great ...

I agree with you that each is system dependent. It would be tough to do

 

[CKKeung]

Joining the ARC forum

I am an audiophile in Hong Kong and would like to say Hi to all of you in this ARC forum.

I have got an ARC 40 preamp 3 weeks ago & been busy burning it in since then. It's now 300 hours and the sound is evolving everyday.

I used a Madrigal 32 preamp before. The ARC40 is better in many aspects and I hope there is further improvement when it's >600hrs.

 

[LL21]

I am an audiophile in Hong Kong and would like to say Hi to all of you in this ARC forum.

I have got an ARC 40 preamp 3 weeks ago & been busy burning it in since then. It's now 300 hours and the sound is evolving everyday.

I used a Madrigal 32 preamp before. The ARC40 is better in many aspects and I hope there is further improvement when it's >600hrs.

hi CKK...i believe i have read your moniker before on some of the Asian Forums. i cannot remember where...either on AE or review33, perhaps? If so, welcome! and i have very much enjoyed reading your posts. And i look forward to reading more of your posts here at WBF...particularly on the ARC 40 and how it compares to others you have had in your system before.

 

[LL21]

Hi CKK,

I went back to Review33, and saw the same moniker...regarding the CJ GAT and SimCity. Was that you? If so, i could not find where SimCity finally did his review of the CJ GAT...the posts all show that people reminded him of his promise to compare it to the ARC Ref 5...but i never found the actual review. (in fact, i saw that he had returned the GAT and was therefore going to compare Ref 5 to ACT 2.)

Did any review of the GAT ever take place or did you ever speak privately with anyone about the GAT? i was curious about the comments saying the GAT was in some respects better than the FM Acoustics 268. Thanks for any help! sorry for hi-jacking this thread...now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

 

[microstrip]

I am an audiophile in Hong Kong and would like to say Hi to all of you in this ARC forum.

I have got an ARC 40 preamp 3 weeks ago & been busy burning it in since then. It's now 300 hours and the sound is evolving everyday.

I used a Madrigal 32 preamp before. The ARC40 is better in many aspects and I hope there is further improvement when it's >600hrs.

CKKeung,
Welcome to the WBF forum! I also own an ARC40 and as far as I remember you are still in the down phase - the sound of the ARC40, mainly the bass impact and fluidity, degrades during the first hundred or two hundred hours and only gets at its best after 500 hours.

 

[CKKeung]

CJ vs ARC

Hi CKK,

I went back to Review33, and saw the same moniker...regarding the CJ GAT and SimCity. Was that you? If so, i could not find where SimCity finally did his review of the CJ GAT...the posts all show that people reminded him of his promise to compare it to the ARC Ref 5...but i never found the actual review. (in fact, i saw that he had returned the GAT and was therefore going to compare Ref 5 to ACT 2.)

Did any review of the GAT ever take place or did you ever speak privately with anyone about the GAT? i was curious about the comments saying the GAT was in some respects better than the FM Acoustics 268. Thanks for any help! sorry for hi-jacking this thread...now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Hi lloydelee21,

Simcity is not me but my friend. We just had a mutual home visit 4 hours ago!
He is a very active audiophile in Hong Kong and had visited many comrades' home & borrowed many gears to 'try' at his home.
He is now using CJ ACT2 and a CJ huge SS poweramp with his Sonus Faber speaker.
I will tell him that you are interested to know how CJ GAT compares with ARC Ref5 & FM preamps.

CK

 

[CKKeung]

CKKeung,
Welcome to the WBF forum! I also own an ARC40 and as far as I remember you are still in the down phase - the sound of the ARC40, mainly the bass impact and fluidity, degrades during the first hundred or two hundred hours and only gets at its best after 500 hours.

Hi microstrip,

Thank you for your advice. My ARC40 performs exactly as what you have said.

Initially it was 'closed'. At 100hrs, it started to open up. At 200hrs the sound is becoming rough & unmusical.
Now it's >300hrs and I starts to notice a bit of warmness & musicality.

I will report to you again the changes after it's >500 hrs.

Cheers,
CK

 

[LL21]

Hi lloydelee21,

Simcity is not me but my friend. We just had a mutual home visit 4 hours ago!
He is a very active audiophile in Hong Kong and had visited many comrades' home & borrowed many gears to 'try' at his home.
He is now using CJ ACT2 and a CJ huge SS poweramp with his Sonus Faber speaker.
I will tell him that you are interested to know how CJ GAT compares with ARC Ref5 & FM preamps.

CK

Thank you!!!!!!

 

[microstrip]

(...) CJ huge SS poweramp with his Sonus Faber speaker. (...)

A cj premier 350?

 

[mep]

I find it odd that a preamp sounds bad out of the box (typical break-in woes), then gets better, and then nose-dives again in sound quality. That doesn't make sense to me. If there is such a thing as component break-in (and the majority would maybe agree there is), you would think the break-in would follow a linear progression with no regression. This is the first time I have heard of this. It seems to me that when you buy really expensive tube gear and it requires an inordinate amount of break-in time before it sounds like the preamp you shelled out your cash for, the OEM should perform the break-in and then retube it with fresh tubes before they ship it off to you.

Jack Daniels doesn't sell you a bottle of bourbon they just made and tell you that you must store it for the next 7 years before you can drink it. No, they age it and sell it to you when it's ready to drink.

 

[LL21]

A cj premier 350?

Yes, i am pretty sure that is right. Simcity is a pretty big fan of CJ from what it seems, and i have seen some of his posts on the ACT 2 and 350 amp.

 

[LL21]

Jack Daniels doesn't sell you a bottle of bourbon they just made and tell you that you must store it for the next 7 years before you can drink it. No, they age it and sell it to you when it's ready to drink.

I agree with your sentiment that long-break in (500 hours) seems a bit much for the consumer to endure. I am contemplating a CJ GAT and am told to expect the same if i go for it.

That said, as for alcohol...many of the "best" wines improve as they age post-buy...people buy cases and dont open them for drinking for years. And even when the bottle is opened, it needs to breathe for a little while...relative to how long it takes to finish the bottle, that breathing period is quite a big percentage. i suppose 500 hours in the context of a unit that will run 15-25 years, it is not so long.

Trust me...i still hear you on the super-long burn in period...and will likely be cursing if go with the GAT and have to burn the pre amp over a 3-week period 24/7!

 

[MylesBAstor]

I find it odd that a preamp sounds bad out of the box (typical break-in woes), then gets better, and then nose-dives again in sound quality. That doesn't make sense to me. If there is such a thing as component break-in (and the majority would maybe agree there is), you would think the break-in would follow a linear progression with no regression. This is the first time I have heard of this. It seems to me that when you buy really expensive tube gear and it requires an inordinate amount of break-in time before it sounds like the preamp you shelled out your cash for, the OEM should perform the break-in and then retube it with fresh tubes before they ship it off to you.

Jack Daniels doesn't sell you a bottle of bourbon they just made and tell you that you must store it for the next 7 years before you can drink it. No, they age it and sell it to you when it's ready to drink.

Mark:

I find that very common with equipment though the ARC reports are maybe a little to the right of normal. Cartridges also display this characteristic--but here we might have a mechanical answer.

With electronics, you have to break in these new exotic caps for ridiculous lengths of time--that is related to where they're used in the circuit and the current that goes through them