Audio Research Ref 10 vs 40th Anniversary preamp

I’d give a call to Randy at Optimal Enchantment in Santa Monica and ask him. He sold me my Ref 40 and now sells lots of Ref 10s. I suspect the answer is that they sound similar but that the Ref 10 delivers more of the same ... now I suspect we’re waiting for the Ref 50 in a year or two 😉

While I have considered moving to the Ref 10 (and the Ref 10 phono) what puts me off is the complexity that's been added in both of these components relative to the Ref 40 -- complexity that to me brings no value. What I'm talking about is all of the microprocessor controlled touch screen -- for me this and all the functionality it brings are of absolutely no value and not something I'd want to pay for. I'd much rather invest in the core amplification circuitry and if I was in the market for an upgrade would lean more towards the top of the line VAC for example

Anyway for the time being the Ref 40 is still working well for me -- just swapped out all the tubes, not because they had failed but just a sense that at 2000 hours+ they were getting tired -- which they were, surprising how this gradual insidious diminution of performance builds up, a strict program of preventative tube exchange is a must

@fsmithjack re real world pricing I just sold my Ref 40 for $10.5k, I’d say under $11k you are getting a fair price. Only pay above that for a dealer piece with warranty. My piece had new tubes and other extras as well.

I sold it because I came to find the ARC house sound overly warm, lush and colored and that was a poor fit with my new speakers. I switched to the VTL 7.5III which is much more transparent and clean sounding. The Ref 40 sounded nice, but it definitely had a sound ...

@tomic601 I changed from Magico Q3s to M3s -- the latter are much more even and rounded sounding and in combination with the ARC house sound was a bit too lush and enveloping -- the VTL was a better fit -- see my system description if you want more info