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Audiomat Arpege Is it really that good ? Help

I have auditionned an Audiomat Arpege at a friends house recently. He let me have it a week or so afterwards. Let me tell you, I had it up to ''here'' with this whole audiophilia thing, never finding the right amplification.
I tried everything from CARY monoblocks to the Krell 300il, to Sonic Frontiers separates. NOTHING sounded finer than this Arpege. I also tried the ''higher end'' Solfege reference. I keep reading that this is an ''unforgiving'' amp. Well it may be, as it came nowhere near as the Arpege as far as overall musicality. Maybe I could never get into a 6550-based tube sound after all. The Arpège uses EL 34 ( Electroharmonix I think) and I just hear more of everything. I own Sonus Faber Grand Pianos, and my room is not ''ideal'' as it has much hardwood flooring. I would like to know of anyone with experiences on the Arpege. Is it my hearing that has gone bad or is this amp really as good as everyone say it is? One member of the Chicago Audiophile Society told me it was the best integrated they had ever listened to, including the more expensive Audiomats. What gives here? Thanks all...
audiopanini

Showing 1 response by bobo

bobo
11 posts
 
I own an Arpege Reference and play it through a pair of B&W CDM 7 NTs, in a room with hardwood floors. The thing kicks ass. Nick Gowan of True Sound introduced me to it (I found out he is the ONLY authorized repair person in the US for their equipment). A special note about the tubes--one of the respondents said he had upgraded the tubes, probably a bad idea because the tubes Audiomat supplies have been rigorously tested and selected for the specific requirements of each amp (they really do keep these records), so when you buy a set of replacement tubes, they are for your amp. Messing with this is messing with elcetronics that are not forgiving, and it may be a quciker ride to Nick's shop for repair. I will probably uppgrade my speakers in the futrue, though, if I can't bring them home to audition in my room, I won't buy 'em. The room requirements dictate a huge amount about what will sound good.

Ron
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