Just landed my dream preamp...the Ref 3...

[Lee]

Not to steal Keith's thunder on purchasing a superb amp and congrats on that Keith!

But I have been wanting one of these and a good friend was upgrading and it came in at a reasonable price. I even got a deal on the upgraded Tung-Sol 6550 power tube that many recommend.

It looks just like this but this photo was much better than I could get from a iPhone:



I also want to thank all those who commented on my earlier thread on the Ref 3. Your information was very helpful.

I've only been listening for a couple of hours but it sounds spectacular! I will have more comments as time goes on but the quietness and smoothness of sound are really astonishing. And I have not even installed the TungSol yet. I'm also just using the stock ac cord for now.

 

[MylesBAstor]

Not to steal Keith's thunder on purchasing a superb amp and congrats on that Keith!

But I have been wanting one of these and a good friend was upgrading and it came in at a reasonable price. I even got a deal on the upgraded Tung-Sol 6550 power tube that many recommend.

It looks just like this but this photo was much better than I could get from a iPhone:

View attachment 5742

I also want to thank all those who commented on my earlier thread on the Ref 3. Your information was very helpful.

I've only been listening for a couple of hours but it sounds spectacular! I will have more comments as time goes on but the quietness and smoothness of sound are really astonishing. And I have not even installed the TungSol yet. I'm also just using the stock ac cord for now.

Way cool! Congrats. That's a keeper.

 

[steve williams]

I owned a Ref3 for several years and loved it. I did notice some RFI even on my dedicated line unless the video display is turned off

 

[mep]

Please let us know what differences you hear with the Tungsol installed. Since the 6550 is used as voltage regulator and not an output tube, I would be surprised if the differences are profound.

 

[LL21]

Congrats! A real winner for sure...i have spent a lot of time with the Ref 3 since it first came out. Nice one!

 

[microstrip]

Lee,

Congratulations! You got a great preamplifier. I spent a great time with it and it is now playing at about 11000 hours without any problem. Remember that the 6550C must be changed every 2000 hours and the 6h30's at 4000 hours - although I always exceed this value about 15% and tubes still measure great when I replace them.

If you ever can borrow a Shunyata power cable - not easy, as the ARC has a C19 20A connector - do not miss to try it.

 

[KeithR]

Congrats! the Ref series are great preamps! (not so much the LS imo)

The Ref3 is the value preamp as well!

 

[Lee]

Thanks everyone.

The Tung-Sol is said to improve the soundstage, according to the prior owner who is a very experienced audiophile. I will see...and I will be careful on tube hours as I learned my lesson with a failed one on my VT-100.

I will definitely be buying another Shunyata cord for it.

This component is really showing me how strong my analog rig and digital source are. The LS-3 was really holding them back.

 

[Lee]

I owned a Ref3 for several years and loved it. I did notice some RFI even on my dedicated line unless the video display is turned off

So true Steve. When I get around a foot away I hear the hum but it goes away when turned off.

 

[microstrip]

So true Steve. When I get around a foot away I hear the hum but it goes away when turned off.

AFAIR, the good thing is that you turn it off, but every time you change anything with the remote or move a knob, it turns on for a few seconds.

 

[LL21]

I generally find turning off video displays is a good thing. I dont always notice it but generally notice when the video display is off for my oppo transport, and i always can tell if the TV is on while the system is playing music. I remember doing that with the Kalista Reference transport, and it worked, despite all the ways in which they had isolated the power supplies, etc.

 

[Lee]

AFAIR, the good thing is that you turn it off, but every time you change anything with the remote or move a knob, it turns on for a few seconds.

Which is a really nice feature actually.

 

[flez007]

Nice preamp Lee! Take good care of it.

 

[Lee]

Nice preamp Lee! Take good care of it.

Thank you! Will do.

 

[Lee]

This is the new old stock Tung-Sol 6550 which I also picked up.