Audio Research Ref75 se


Hey there! I’m new here :)

I have Vandersteen speakers model 2Ce.

now I came across a solid deal for an ARC ref75se.

sadly I can’t hear them combined, and a friend of mine told me it might wont have enough power to run my Vandys to their best since they are 86dB.

also if it can be a good combo for the vandy sound wise .

any suggestion about that would help, if not I have an other deal for Asthetix Mimas which I heard and was decent.. but I really like Arc and from what I read 75se is a superb amp, and I can get them for the same price.

 

thanks for the help!

mike30

I’ve had a REF75 and a REF75SE for several years in my system and agree with all the points mentioned in the discussion, it is an excellent amp. It is a low maintenance model (for a tube-based amp) and it can drive many brands/models of speakers really well (I had Monitor Audio Platinum II which impedance curve can go low and it had no problem driving them). Obviously if your speakers have low sensitivity and you have a very large room, you may be disappointed if you want to crank it but many people who have listened to my system have been surprised of this was ’just a 75W amp’. Bass is strong and detailed but still ’rounder’ than with a SS like Bryston. But in term of sound refinement, it is much better than most options at this price point. Its replacement model is out so it’s possible to get the REF75SE for less money on used market and like someone said, a REF75 + KT150s give you 90% of the SE version for far less.

Synergy is important to get the most out of it (had paired it with a REF6 and the combo is great unsurprisingly). I’ve moved up the ladder since then but really enjoyed my time with this ARC combo and resell value is very high. Highly recommended.

Hey!

I heard the Ayre VX-5 Twenty lovely amp really precised fast and natural.

vs the REF 75 se... and that one would be my AMP.. it just blew me away i felt like the speakers aren’t there anymore and every thing felt so right and musical.

even tho i have to admit that the ayre was doing better at some segments . the ARC was just more musical.. maybe im just a TUBE head idk :D

It had more life to it and the vocals were by far superior

Probably why, now that I can finally own whatever I want (after fifty years of working, financial constraints are removed), all my gear is Audio Research. Each piece adds a more “real music” sound and end to end ARC is wonderful.

@ghdprentice arc truly awesome!!

It was the difference between looking at a beautiful picture to falling into that picture.

now I need to look for a preamplifier to match the Ref 75 SE