ARC ref 210 vs ref 150

I own the Ref 150 SE. It's a wonderful sounding amp.

As some may know, ARC approved the use of KT-150 tubes in the "regular" Ref 150. IMO, the KT-150s bring a sense of depth and hue to the music. IMO, my amp is warmer sounding with KT-150s than the original stock KT-120s. IMO, the SE version is even better sounding than the non-SE version.

Of course, amp/speaker matching is always an issue. If you still have a chance to audition the Ref 150, try a listen to one with KT-150 tubes.

Can't speak about the Ref 210 ... never heard one in action. That said, it's worth mentioning that the Ref 110 and Ref 210 were both replaced by the Ref 150 and Ref 250, respectively. The current Ref series (not SE) had beefed up power supplies (doubled in the Ref 150), was designed to be driven with KT-120 tubes (as compared to 6550 "Winged Cs" in the Ref 110) and took numerous other circuit changes.

I can only surmise that the more recent "150" and "250" models are better sounding than their earlier counterparts, the "110" and "210" models.

Mickey, you wrote "[w]ith regards to the pre, it needs to be matched with an amp with a fairly high input impedance. The Ref 150 SE is listed on the ARC website as having one of 300 kOhms and that should be sufficient. Is that the same with the Ref 150?"

The answer is yes. The specs between the Ref 150 and 150 SE are almost identical. Ditto the GS 150. You should note that the Ref 150 (SE and non-SE) and GS 150 only have XLR inputs ... no RCA/SE jacks.