which non ARC poweramp do you use with ARC REF 3

I cannot answer your question directly but I can give you some guidance - select a power amp that has input impedance greater than 10K Ohms. The ARC Ref3 has an output impedance of 600 Ohms which does not work well with lower input impedance power amps. The bass is not well-controlled (flabby).

I have found excellent synergy for my Audio Research Ref 3 with the Lamm M 1.2 Ref monoblock amplifiers. I recommend that you refer to a series of product reviews by Marc Michelson at soundstage.com.

I have tried Audio Research tube and hybrid amps and Krell and Pass solid state amps with this same system, but in my opinion, the Lamm tops all of them when matched with the Ref 3. Even though the Lamm is rated at 100 wpc at 8 ohms, there is an output impedance adjustment switch. These amps are more powerful than their rating would suggest.

One recommendation for the hybrid Lamms: they are supplied with one Russian-sourced 6922 tube. I strongly recommend that you replace this 6922 tube with a NOS tube of your preference--telefunken, seimans, etc. This will improve upon the transparency and character of the sound.

If possible, audition the Lamm M1.2 Ref. Best of luck in your search.

Gryphon Antileon Signature. Pure class A. Very good into low impedance speakers. Better bass control than tube amps.

I had great success pairing my ARC Ref 3 with a BAT VK-75SE, especially once I had the BAT modified by Bob Backert.

Cheers,
John

If the ARC's output impedence is low enough, I imagine it would work with a variety of amps. Shouldn't you be asking the question more what amp works with your speakers? I'd think that is harder to get the synergy right.

Best, Peter

I'd be interested to see whether more people have tried Krell. I don't have ARC gear myself but I witnessed a presentation that went slightly amiss and I have been wondering why that should have been the case. In this particular instance, a Krell Evo 402 substituted the originally programmed ARC REF 110 amp to accompany the ARC REF 3, as the organizer considered the ARC not powerful enough to fill a large acoustically damped hotel conference room with a few dozen people in it. When the music got loud (as in very LOUD!), I noticed what seemed like distortion. Speakers were the new Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario (rest of the system, see thread: World of Hifi in Wiesbaden). So I wonder, don't ARC and Krell "like" each other electrically?

Believe or not I will replace Boulder 810 with ARC Ref 3. And the poweramp is Krell Evo 402. They will fall in love together I guess because interconnect will be re-calibrated Transparent Ref mm2 interconnect. Makes sense?

I very recently replaced my ML 334 (soon to be sold, hopefully) with the Luxman MQ-88 to go with my ARC REF 3. I am thrilled with the result. I auditioned other amps (Ayre, Accuphase, Bryston) as well as some ARC power amps, but they did not approach or equal the MQ-88. The MQ-88 is giving me the warmth and musicality I have come to crave from tube gear AND the detail and punch/slam of a good SS amp. I am one happy camper! The only thing I heard that was distinctly better than the MQ-88 was Shindo gear, which is unfortunately beyond my budget for now.

Mert, it sure makes sense, since you have obviously been carefully designing and matching your "chain" from wall outlet to speakers. At the presentation, I had heard what seemed an unfortunate mix of gear and I wondered are there basic incompatibilities between ARC en Krell. So, I can now exclude that; the neuralgic point must have been somewhere else.

4musica44107, very interesting to learn that Luxman is back with a vengeance. My first serious integrated amp was a L410 and I had a defect L550 for a short time that I had exchanged for a crate of beer. Beautiful machine, but unfortunately I never managed to keep it running for longer than a week, then it went belly up permanently (but hey, that's about the lifetime of a crate of beer, nothing gained, nothing lost).

CAT JL-3 Mk II monoblocks. Even Ken Stevens of CAT thinks this is a good combo. This pair will likely drive any speaker as loudly as you wish, neutrally, with triode naturalness, and remote control.