Dctom -
The Ref 2 SE is super quiet. At a volume turned up to a meter level of 40/60 on my Rowland Synergy IIi and the high gain setting noisefloor is only audible when placing your ear a few inches away from the tweeter/mid. In low gain, still silent at those volume levels. Being used to solid state, I was amazed at how quiet tubes can be. The SE upgrade is probably well worth it.
My next carts will be in the 0.5 mV levels so I can utilize the low gain settings in the Ref 2Se more.
The Ref 2 SE is super quiet. At a volume turned up to a meter level of 40/60 on my Rowland Synergy IIi and the high gain setting noisefloor is only audible when placing your ear a few inches away from the tweeter/mid. In low gain, still silent at those volume levels. Being used to solid state, I was amazed at how quiet tubes can be. The SE upgrade is probably well worth it.
My next carts will be in the 0.5 mV levels so I can utilize the low gain settings in the Ref 2Se more.