I owned a Audio Research 5SE for many years, with a Pass amp. The best thing I did was to get rid of the Pass amp and replace it with an ARC amp. Honestly, most likely you are thinking of replacing the wrong component. Replace your amp with a used Ref75… or better. this will have the effect you are looking for. Audio Research Reference preamps above 3 are just plain world class… their amps are just amazing… I now have a ARC Ref 6SE. And a Ref 160s amp… although I have been using ARC Ref 160m monoblocks for the last couple months. These are an incredible combo.
Showing 4 responses by ghdprentice
ARC has been working from the tube side getting more and more accurate for many decades. Their tube amps are very neutral and natural not remotely syrupy. Your description of what you wanted described it perfectly. Also, ARC gear is very synergistic… the more in the signal path the better it sounds. This way you don’t end up with one component on the cool side and the other a bit on the warm side and loosing a bit of both through subtraction. I never realized how important this synergy was until I added an ARC amp and then an ARC DAC… wow… that was a jaw dropping moment. But still, swapping my Pass x350 for a ARC 160s was perhaps the most consequential change I ever made. |
I think you are right on track here with CJ and Shindo. If I had the space and money I would really like to build a system around Shindo… the descriptions have always been intriguing to me and in line with my desired aesthetic, but so far off from where I was, I could never go there. But from what you have said… on target for you.
Also, I have lived in Japan for a couple years. I really love Japan and the Japanese, their reverence for really fine craftsmanship, nuance and iterative improvement has got to have created the magic of Shindo… not for rock and roll… but for a completely zen wholistic recreation of music. I am jealous of your objectives… I really hope you go this route… but you will have to go speakers as well. If you do, I’d love to hear it.
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@ghasley Good to hear Shindo does rock well. That makes sense actually. Thanks for your comments. |