New Ref 6SE and Ref 750SEL

ayreman

Well-Known Member
Jan 2, 2017
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Ukraine
End of discussion. Talking to you, lot, is like talking to a brick wall...
 

Bobvin

VIP/Donor
Jun 7, 2014
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Portland
www.purewatersystems.com
Whew, glad that's over!
 

lem321

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2014
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murphys33

Well-Known Member
Sep 28, 2011
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Not one decent cap in the entire preamp and they charge you an arm and a leg for this... Disgraceful, utterly disgraceful. Only idiots will upgrade to 6SE. The smart ones will buy quality caps, mod the crap out their Ref 6 and hear it outperform Ref 10 for a fraction of the price...

What were the upgrades or mods that you did that improved on the SQ?
 

ayreman

Well-Known Member
Jan 2, 2017
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Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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Naive children populate this forum. Not addicted-to-best mature grown-ups. Sad, really sad...:(

This post is rude and obnoxious. A little introspection is in order.
 

tobiasrankin

Well-Known Member
Mar 7, 2020
308
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Not one decent cap in the entire preamp and they charge you an arm and a leg for this... Disgraceful, utterly disgraceful. Only idiots will upgrade to 6SE. The smart ones will buy quality caps, mod the crap out their Ref 6 and hear it outperform Ref 10 for a fraction of the price...
At that point won't it make more sense to just go to a boutique maker like Aric audio and have something more custom made that can compete for less money?
 

ayreman

Well-Known Member
Jan 2, 2017
217
78
158
Ukraine
At that point won't it make more sense to just go to a boutique maker like Aric audio and have something more custom made that can compete for less money?
If you have nothing - that may be a way to go. But if you already own a decent preamp, my point is it is silly to sell it, losing money. Instead, improve what you already own by replacing the junk they put at the factory with the best part money can buy. To me this is the only logical way to go.

P.S. The only exception is if what you own is not worth modding because it was crap to begin with (entry-level gear that has no (or very little) potential for improvement and would be a waste of time and money to work on).
 

tobiasrankin

Well-Known Member
Mar 7, 2020
308
57
93
44
If you have nothing - that may be a way to go. But if you already own a decent preamp, my point is it is silly to sell it, losing money. Instead, improve what you already own by replacing the junk they put at the factory with the best part money can buy. To me this is the only logical way to go.

P.S. The only exception is if what you own is not worth modding because it was crap to begin with (entry-level gear that has no (or very little) potential for improvement and would be a waste of time and money to work on).
I see what your saying.
 

Tecknik1

Well-Known Member
May 29, 2017
50
3
115
HCM VietNam
Aryeman I would love to hear your modded AR Ref Anv pre I’m sure it sounds fabulous and wouldn’t hesitate to buy it from you, a true work of art from your posted pictures.

I do a bit of modding myself not to the extent of what you have done but enough to know not all parts are created equal and great parts do indeed transform a piece of equipmen.

Are modded pieces worth less or are less desirable that’s debatable but I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase a modded piece there are a lot talented guys out there doing great work Steve Huntley immediately comes to mind, wonder what ever happened to him after GNS closed.
 

AThrillOfHope

Member
Jul 27, 2021
33
17
15
If it was not for the number of tubes or heat I would have kept the ARC REF750's. Easily the best tube amplifiers I have owned, retrospectively I preferred them to the VLT Siegfried II's - more bloom and better fluidity, although the Siegfried is more "neutral".

But almost 2kW idle power and changing 40 expensive power tubes every year frightened me. My room was a real sauna when I owned them. At less I know the person who got the REF750's is enjoying them - I tried to get them back, but he was not interested at all ... :(

Some people I respect due to their large experience with top tube amplifiers told me recently that the latest version of the REF610T, modified to accept the KT120's, are easily on par with the REF750 in most aspects.
“Wilson Audio XLF's, Audio Research REF40, VTL Siegfired II, DCS Vivaldi 2.0 stack, Taiko Audio SGM Extreme, Kondo KSL DAC, TechDas Air Force One Premium, SME3012-R, Graham Phamtom III, Sumiko Palo Santos, vdH Black Beauty, ARC Phono 3, Studer A80, Crystal Dreamline signal and speaker, TA Ref XL digital, TA Ref XL gen V power cables, CenterStage footers, Nordost Qkore6' s and QB8's!”

I hate you.

Just kidding. Maybe jealous. I need to repent.

Great system.
 

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