Well, we have Iris Dement in common. Tis a shame she has put out so little music. It is no secret that ARC feels that fuses and other methods of circuit protection degrade the sound and also no secret that ARC's practice of having a single resistor act as circuit protection for tube failure is a pain for the customer. If a tube fails, the resistor not only needs to be replaced but on occasion there can be more damage to the circuit. For the most part, this is a thing of the past, but it was a huge problem back in the 90's. I don't think that there is anything magical about my Ref 150SE and I have no doubt that any number of competitor tube amps including the RM-200 equal or exceed it. I do believe that the ARC Ref 6 and Ref 10 preamps are among the best five preamps currently available. My Ref 6 makes me smile every time. Huge soundstage and a magical quiet forcefulness. I am one of those who believe the preamp is the single most important piece of electronics and is the heart of any system, more so than the amp or speaker. My choice of amp simply followed my choice of preamp. They match and are compatible though any number of other tube amps would also work well.
