What's a contender to an Audio Reference 5 SE?


If you were considering an Audio Reference 5 SE to mate with a Plinius SA-Reference amp, what other preamps might you consider?
128x128timztunz
Naim is even worse. You need to begin with live music.

One of my best friends had a small concert room with a Steinway wing for 65 people. Here I learend how small and direct voices and instruments sound in real.

I wa slike magic, the intimate sound was what I sill use in all my sets I create for clients.

The second part what influenced me a lot was also jazz live music. I was sitting in the middle and in front of the stage. You could hear all the instruments and stage depth and width. Also the heights of the instruments.

That is why we create a 3 dimensional intimate stage. We test and compare all audio on 9 different parts you judge audio for.

Naim has nothing to do with realism in sound and music. I only can buy it when you don't know a lot about music and how it sounds in real.

I can explain why?

Naim is 2 dimensional, we even call it often 1 dimensional ( mono) because beside there is not stage depth instruments do not have an intimate apparence like in real.

What does audio need?

first of all; education in music. I spend about 3-4 hours every week for the search of new music. I am an music addict.

In 8 years of time I did many shootouts for clients between 2 and 3 dimensional sound. This is the most effective way of getting people exited about music and audio. Even women get exited when you demo 3 dimensional sound. Many women of men who bought a system from us use the set independently.

In 2009 I did a 3 dimensional demo for a person who recently bought a naim set of 14000 euro. He said; I never experienced music this way. When I would have heard this at the time I bought the Naim set, I would have bought this set for sure.

The problem is that the knowledge and insight in sound is getting less every single year. This problem we see and hear at shops, distributers and even at manufacturers.

There is one thing needed; it has to change. This way audio will become a smaller market every single year.
Tim-

consider Conrad Johnson and Aesthetix for tubes.
consider Pass Labs for solid state.

More importantly, which cable brand(s) are you planning to use? Keep me posted and Happy Listening!
Bo1972,

Everything you said about the Ref-5SE I have heard the opposite. Tell us what pre-amp for the same money you like better?

The Ref 5se is a truly excellent preamp. At the price it is selling for used right now it would be very hard to beat. At it's retail price it is hard to beat. I own a Ref 5se and it is amazing. I listened to a lot of preamps while thinking about upgrading. I heard the Aesthetix Calypso signature in the same system as the Ref 5se. It was not in the same league. The Pass XP-30 is very nice. I have not had the chance to directly compare the XP-30 to the Ref 5se. But I was very impressed by the Pass system it was in. If I did not own Audio Research gear I would probably own Pass. The D'Agostino Momentum preamp is maybe better, though it is far more expensive. I do love the Captain Nemo styling. I can't think of any preamp I liked as much as the Ref 5se other than the D'Agostino Momentum.