Well guys, I am back again, ... 1 year and a few months later, ... with some comments about the ARC Ref 6SE and the significance of break-in. So, I finally swapped out my Ref 6 for the SE upgrade in the Fall of 2020. I am happy to report that I am *very* pleasantly surprised and am *very*pleased.
Right out of the box, ... the Ref 6SE sounded off. Hard to describe.
However, after 100 hours, I could start to hear real improvements in SQ. The Ref 6SE sounded faster, better focus, better sound-stage, better imaging. Bass was tighter too. I recall listening to some jazz records and immediately noticed how tight the bass instrument sounded. Drum thwacks and cymbals ... really tight and clear.
And all of these SQ improvements continued as I racked up more hours on the unit. I have about 500 hours on my Ref 6SE now and it is pretty well broken in.
As to bwright's comments and observations above, ... he is spot on. Brand new ARC gears needs to break-in before one can really appreciate its quality and attributes. In many ways, buying pre-owned ARC gear has an advantage: the pre-owned unit should be broken and any kinks worked out.
BIF
