ARC amp differences.

I have Sonus Faber Amati Tradition speakers and have powered them with the Reference 160s and Reference 160m monoblocks. I also auditioned the Serfino. They sound great, really a perfect match. I have also heard the Vsi 70 and the VT80. My listening room is quite a bit larger, which is why the Amati are the right choice for me.

The Reference 80s would be a great choice although I would not consider the Ref 160s overkill. The architecture of the two amps is identical, the 80 just having less power. They have exactly the same sonic character. I run my Ref 160 in the triode mode, so they actually only put out 70wpc. The difference is subtitle but very important. They are more musical in the triode mode. The reference 80s also has a triode mode, it puts out 33wpc in that mode.

I guess, if you can afford it I highly recommend the REF 160s. But you are unlikely to be disappointed with either. I listen at relatively low volumes as well. But they can be cranked without compression or distortion. 
 

Also, if you go this route I highly recommend Transparent wires except for the amp… I went AudioQuest Hurricane on that (big improvement). While I slowly migrated to my system (see under my virtual systems) to this combination over forty years without knowing this. The Audio Research / Sonus Faber / Transparent combination is a known incredibly synergistic combination, that really captures the gestalt of music as well as the details. I get lost in it about three hours a day and need to drag myself away.

Oops, a clarification… the only non-Transparent wires I have is the Audio Quest Hurricane power cord on my amp. All others are Tranparent… cables, interconnects and power cords. I fiddled with different power cords for a year on my amp until I found the AudioQuest. It is perfect.

@cundare2

OK, now that is a hard one.

I guess, if it takes the VSI75SE to get you into a ARC preamp and amp… then I would go that way. Audio Research stuff is really complimentary to other ARC equipment. So, if you were thinking Audio Research Ref 5 preamp and REF 75 amp… yes… that will sound significantly better than the VsI75SE. But if you have something else… go with the VSI.

Audio Research has an incredible natural sound… with the gestalt… the macro and micro details in perfect proportion to real music. The very best sound comes from every piece being cut from the same cloth. So all ARC is best.

A great strategy would be to go with the VsI75 for now and enjoy it for a few years until you can move up to the Reference level.

@cundare2

Perhaps I have not communicated that well. I would not say the Vsi 75 is at all of a different class from the reference, they have very much the same sound… most of it. As you move up the differences are subtitle versus a different company who’s sound is very different.

I recently spent time with a $10K Luxman integrated , $10K Pass Integrated, and the $6K ARC I-50 (?). The Luxman was cold and detailed without rhythm and pace (musicality), the Pass was powerful with good rhythm and pace, the Audio Research… well, my eyes closed and I fell into the music… I would take the ARC I-50 over any Luxman and most Pass at several times the price.

So I want to be very careful at what I am communicating. The differences between companies is far greater than levels within one… in general. I would take a level down or two in ARC over the others any day.

While I agree tube gear is a little bit “fussy”… I would like to add a bit of nuance to that.
 

The reason is that tube gear has that reputation… but high quality equipment like Audio Research will occasionally require re-tubing an very, very occasionally have a badly behaved tube.

So, I ran my Ref 5SE phonostage for ten years and never needed to touch it. I used it about an hour a day. Which while working was about all one can do. I have run my full system of tubed equipment for three or four years with one tube that started to whistle… it was simple to swap tubes and find the culprit, in ten minutes. That is it.

For a few decades I was put off by this reputation (for power amps)… and it was a real mistake. It is important to realize that on average they are not unreliable at all. I’m guessing I put 15,000+ component hours on my tube gear with one whistling tube. Auto-biasing in contemporary equipment and slow startup circuits for tubes makes them no-touch for long periods of time.