Stupidgood: Ars Sonum

No not Drew, but I'll do my best Hemingway. I can't believe how good the Ars Sonum intregrated is with my Merlins speakers; stupidgood.

Cwlondon, no - I make my living selling newspapers. And I doubt there are any dealers (not sure about that), these are handmade, one-by-one in small quantities and you can expect a wait to get one. I think the maker does it as a labor of love, he makes his living as a doctor. I just got my Stereophile yesterday, and John Marks just about said it all. Including the fact that this is not an amp for everyone - you need the right type of speakers - easy load (8 ohms, no ugly dips), fairly efficient (87-89db or higher) -- but with the right speakers (like Merlins)this amp is great, period.

Sorry, stupidgood.

In my opinion, the ARS Sonum provides as much musical pleasure as any of the separates I have owned (currently Joule pre and CAT amp). Much is said about the importance of the amp/speaker compatability; the quality must in good part be a perfect marriage of the Ars capabilities with the Merlin's needs; they are optimized for each other and it sure sounds like it. I'm sure the CAT would handle a much larger array of speakers with more difficult loads and demands, part of the genius of the CAT amp is ability to be a beast (100 Watt, Class A, triode)with purity and delicacy. Overall I imagine the CAT is a better amp, one of the very best -- but if you own Merlins or other speakers that have benign impedance, relatively efficient, and don't need much damping - the ARS are a must listen. They are stupidgood because you look at them, they are "only" $4,000 and you have doubts, it can't be that good -- well it is. You can't go wrong with the combination. You may have to wait a while to get one, but it is worth the wait.

Would smartbad mean a piece of equipment the thing makes technolgical sense, "looks" well made, it is expensive, well reviewed, should sound good, but for some reason it stinks and you wonder what all the fuss is about? I won't name names, but I have also had that type of equipment.

I too am curious about the Jadis, which I was considering, but I tend to take Bobby's advice when it comes to his speakers.

There is something I really like about the idea of integrateds; when they are top flight, uncompromised (within reason). Of course, that does not mean I'm getting rid of the Joule/CAT combo any time soon.

Cwlondon, love the tape deck.

I think the wait would be longer than that. I've not heard the Jadis with the Merlins, I'm sure they are superb (they sounded great at the NYC audio show with Proac, I think), but what might (speculation) make the Ars and even better match is the fact that on a parts and wiring level it is designed with the Merlins in mind, matching what you would find in the the Merlin's x-overs. I'm not sure what the impact of that might be, but the SE version of the ARS was definitely influenced by Bobby's input with ARS to optimize performance with the Merlins. I'm not sure there is a way around the wait though, the designer makes'em, no assembly line here; but there is some charm to the idea of that - as long as you have something to listen to while you wait.

Trelja, have you tried any tube swapping with the ARS. I'm thinking of the little tubes (6922 and 5814/12au7s), I will leave the EL34s alone.

I had to run home and try it. I replaced the Tesla 6922 (driver stage) with an Amperex White Label PQ (USA) and in my opinion an improvement. Seems better at microdynamics and presence -or put another way, it sounds beautiful. I'm going to settle on this for a few days, get to know the sound and then try some RCA Clear Top 12au7 in place of the pair of Phillips 5814 - not expecting as much of a difference there but will see. I can't see playing around with the JJ EL34Ls - the measurement and testing is so tight I don't think messing with them will help.

That makes sense.

Sherod, the wife liked it, but she said I better never say it in public.

And just to give a little more weight to the assessment, I've been using a CAT JL2, and I believe David had been using a Joule VZN 100 - both outstanding amps, and especially so with the Merlins -- in that company, the Ars is a viable option (with the Merlins) to these great separates.

"I've stopped agonizing..." That very much describes how I'm feeling. I won't say the Ars is better than the Joule/CAT, and that pairing will certainly be better for a broader array of speaker options, but I'm just as happy listening to the Ars Sonum with the Merlins as with them and that is close enough for me. I've stopped agonizing about speakers when I bought the Merlins (Merlin owners will knowwhat I mean), I think of the Ars Sonum in much the same way. No thinking about the pre/amp combo, the interconnect, or power cord for that matter. And when the unit is fully broken in I'll roll some NOS in the 6922 slot (I think this is the only tube that makes sense playing with on this unit) and we are talking one [1] tube to play with - makes it affordable to try an Amperex,Mullard,Siemens, and Mullard - and no worrying about matching pairs. No matter how bad you feel waiting for this gem to be made for you - you'll think it all worthwhile once you have it - at least with the Merlins.

I'm selling the CAT. My listing should be up shortly.

The need is gone. And the CAT is too good, and too big to be ignored. The Joule is staying though as I try some SS amps - just got the Pass Aleph J.

I'm guilty.

I'm afraid I have to nominate the First Watt (Pass) Aleph J for inclusion in the stupidgood list - apparently Stereophile got it right a few years back in their review of the Pass Aleph 3. This too is a "low" power, 30 Watt, Class A amp, and it is also single-ended - I don't know if this is the only single-ended SS on the market (is the XA series single-ended?). It works beautifully with the Merlins and with an incredible 242kohm input impedance it is super friendly for use with tube preamplifiers and it is optimized for stable 8-16 ohm speaker impedance (e.g., Merlins). If 30 watts is enough power for your speakers and room, this amp is a gem - unfortunately they stopped making them, but you have to believe Nelson Pass is cooking up something in his kitchen - literally. But moving forward, I'll only comment on the Ars so as not to divert the thread for those who have the Ars or are thinking about getting one.

There is an ARS SONUM up for sale at the moment. If you don't want to wait months to get one....

But that gold matches the Merlin brass rods so nicely. As far as I know, the SE version in the lastest version; some modification made in the course of Bobby's discussion with Ricardo.

No sophiscated isolation, I have a two shelves (Maple Wood) on a rack with a sandwich between them of cork and rubber (like the Mapleshade stuff). I also use Herbie tube damppers on the small tubes, but frankly, I can hear the difference. If there is ever a MKII, I would not send it back unless there was a one month turnaround, but this thing is so good, I'm not worrying about - really (well, maybe I would worry a little bit). By the way, I was worried about it not being loud enough at 30 watts, well, watts ain't watts (these are Class A and tubes)this integrated has plenty of power for my music and my room (12x19). If you had a very large room that needed a lot more power, you would probably have the mistaken assumption that the Merlins were too small - looks can be deceiving.

Ok. I have regained my sanity - I'm not selling the CAT JL2. I was so in love with the Ars Sonum, so overwhlemd by how good it is and enjoyed it so much I thought I would just get rid of the CAT. I was wrong. Not about the Ars Sonum, I love it, it is stupidgood, and it is getting better as it breaks in. I was wrong about the CAT - I realize I can't get rid of her (not an it). I started getting calls for the amp, and I started sweating and feeling anxious, I realized that getting rid of the CAT would leave me feeling great regrets and feeling stupid. Ulitmately, I think the Joule/CAT combo is the best I've heard and it can do things that the Ars cannot do at only 30 watts, etc. But the testament to the Ars is that it made me even think about getting rid of the CAT - it is that good with these speakers. If I had the Ars first I don't think I would upgrade, especially when price and value is taken into consideration. What I will say is you could easily live with the Ars if you could not afford Joule/CAT/Atmasphere, and you might even prefer it on some kind of music (small scale, acoutic, etc). I love both. I'm keeping both - and that's my story.

The Ars remains an outstanding pre/amp when matched with the Merlins and competes very well with well thought of separates. I don't really have any new thoughts, it continues to be an excellent piece and if you stay with Merlins it could be your endgame for electronics, unless you simply like experimenting, and most of us do. That does not mean there is nothing better in absolute terms, but at $4000 it is stupidgood and will fully satisfy the music lover. It will be well worth the wait if it gets you off the merri-go-round, and it just might.

Jeff, I think there is a lot of Smartbad equipment out there that I have heard over the years, but I won't name names since others may own the equipment and be perfectly happy with it. It is more fun for me to talk about the equipment that has satisfied me and pass on the good word. I agree with you 100% about Joule and CAT (and I suspect Atmasphere too)and the Ars Sonum is in that class as a small 30 watt integrated. I've enjoyed all these amps with the Merlin VSM-MXs which I am unlikely to ever replace unless they are upgraded in the future. With the Merlins, the Ars are magnificent, careful system matching with other speakers is necessary (also true with the Joules). Unlike the CATs, they will not work with everything out there - I've not yet heard a better amp than the CAT.

Santacore, that will be a music lovers combo that you should enjoy for a long, long time.

Doubtful. Although the Stereophile reviews was with two different speakers, neither Merlins.

If 30 watts is enough, you would need a real good reason to buy separates 3x-4x more, or more. Ultimatley I prefer $20,000-$30,000 Joule or CAT gear, the fact that I can enjoy the Ars in that context suggests how darn good this little integrated is and what a screaming value - though it might nor seem like one on size and specs alone; obviously some very good design work and choices went into the Ars. If you know how fantastic Bobby's speakers are, you get an idea of what he thinks about this amp performance.