ARC Ref 5se VS ARC Ref 6

Agree with most of the posts here. Had a 5, uogrded it to a 5SE > wow, much better. Upgraded it to a demo Ref 6. Could not beleave my ears: much better and more gain. Have always used them with the Shunyata Sigma power cord. Advise: wait till you see a used Ref 6 for a good price. (I paid 7k8 and sold the SE for 5k9). Good luck, Jaap Linde (NL)

I would purchase a Foundation series LS28

I do not have the ref5 or 6 but I have the ref2, the anniversary, the 38s and the krell fpb 600. Generaly the arc preamps  are a much better match to the krells compared to the 38s which is not very good pre anyway. However you also have an even bigger problem in your setup with the amp which is the worst amp produced by krell. To make a big difference to your system I would suggest you buy the cheaper ref3 and spend some money upgrading the krell. I did that with mine and the difference was impressive. I had 128 caps replaced with nichicon gold caps as well as the power supply caps replaced with new ones of the same type. There was a very big improvement in clarity and speed. Ofcourse the sound is not as good as it comes out of the mcx or the krs monos but if you cannot afford them its the next best thing you can do. 

^^^

Panprot19
However you also have an even bigger problem in your setup with the amp which is the worst amp produced by krell.

My personal opinion panprot19; is that if one fails in their attempt to set up a component, especially a popular one, and this component is still in good shape and not in need of a rebuild; well, do not be so hard on yourself. I mean really, this thing weighs 200 lbs, and one needs a dolly to move the box. You could throw more than your back out. Also Mono and Stereo amps both come with their own set of pros and cons. The room itself is the bigger influence. Show us a picture of your room with speakers. For seasoned audiophiles, pictures tell the whole story behind people’s posts and have meaning.
Now I know a number of people that made that amp you seem to hate, one of their final ones. Meaning its staying put not going anywhere. Maybe because it weighs so much ? But who owns just one amp anyway ? that can leave you with no music, if it goes down.

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back to the thread. couple comments that were made

The REF 10 is the standard bearer.

Then suddenly I was offered a chance on a factory Ref 10 demo unit in black and that was too good to pass up.

I have always equated company flagship preamps, you know, the ones that really showcase a company’s talents, to preamps with isolated power supplies and adjustable gain. These features separate the men from the boys, imo.
The Ref 10 checks both these two boxes; but why did it take ARC so long to figure it out again after the flagship models of the past that had these features ? A change in people that do the thinking ?

I do see there is room in the REF 10, to put a phono stage. So why did they not do it; I mean if its a quest for the best sonics ? IMO, A separate additional box, and more cables to hookup phono when dealing with that tiny vinyl signal is not a good thing; except maybe in business and profits.