arc ref5-se
I have been entertaining the idea of trying a ref5-se for awhile. I see a few around the $6500 range, but they sure don't seem to sell very fast.
I have an opportunity to get one for $6000. The unit is very clean with low hours.
I kinda feel this is a fair price. Any thoughts?
I would think so. I owned one for nearly ten years… I could have easily lived with it forever. I was upgrading my other equipment, so upgraded to the REF6se. Don’t worry about hours… they will last decades. You will have to replace the tubes occasionally… but these are real audiophile components made to last a lifetime.
I would jump on it, without hesitation. A screaming deal for the sound and quality. |
@ghdprentice +1
True reference components a generation away from new are still exceptional many times the flavor is all that has changed. |
I owned one for a few years and loved it. I sold it to return to Solid State and bought an Ayre KX-5 Twenty, realized I had made a mistake. Sold the Ayre and bought and still have an LS28SE and am happy again. By comparison the two are very close in performance and plan to keep this one. I am sure you will be happy with the performance of the REF5SE, it never left me wanting more. My issue was the heat and my limitations of placement. As far as the hours go, it is hard to say since they can be reset at anytime, unlike an odometer. Enjoy and I only used AR tubes, but they are hard to get right now. |
