Audio Research Ref 110

I have 88 hours on my new Ref 110 and it sounds v shrill, with a somewhat thin midrange. I have heard that this unit takes 300 hours to break in. Will this shrillness go away as part of the break in process?

gpgr4blu06-21-2009 6:53pm

Showing 3 responses by dave_b

dave_b Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 3,159 posts 06-22-2009 at 12:54am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Preamp? Source? Cables? Speaker?
dave_b Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 3,159 posts 06-22-2009 at 10:24am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete As far as I know, an amp does not make sounds without a little help. A power cord can make an amp sound quite different. If you had enough love of music to purchase an ARC Ref 110 amp, you should understand that generalizations are worthless. How the amp reacts to it's connected components and cabling is as varied as human hearing acuity is variable.
dave_b Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 3,159 posts 06-23-2009 at 04:53pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete I can say that compared to the VT 100MKII and VT200MKII combined with my LS25 and Ref2 MKII, the newer Ref designs are more solid state like in their presentation, albeit with increased dimensionality and huge soundstaging. For me, the advent of the 6H30 tube/crcuit has coincided with my recent decrease in interest for ARC, BAT gear...yes, I owned a Ref 3 and sold it. Why? Because it sounded solid state like in tone color and was a bit soft down low and up top.

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