Audio Research REF 110 or Ref 75

I've had watt puppy 7s and Sasha paired with a ref 110 with 6550s and then kt 120s and I too thought it was a great combo but a little light below. The ref 150 made a big difference and I've heard the ref 250s sound even better. My guess is the ref 75 will be an upgrade but a used ref 150 would be a marked upgrade.

Thanks, this is very useful information, and I do have a sub a JL 110 but I prefer to get the most out of the Wilsons. The sub is really too low, just rumble great for Movie but not as tight and punchy as the Wilsons. It does help a little when listening at very low volumes. I can use it as kind of a loudness control.

I have the reference 75 and auditioned it on wilson Duettes, a different speaker I know. I compared it with a Ref 110, upgraded with KT120 tubes and I found the Ref 75 significantly better and certainly powerful enough for the speakers.

When I auditioned the amp, it was on the recommendation of a review in a UK magazine. The reviewer bought the amp himself and commented that 75 to 100 watts has always seemed to be the area that ARC produces great amps. Having heard the ref 110 and 150, I think he is right, the ARC ref 75 seems exceptional, even compared to the 110 and 150.

"07-29-14: Mitch4t
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Zd542, Lak & Vdosc, Would a subwoofer be a possible solution
in this scenario?"

In this case, I would say no. The Watt/Puppies can go pretty low all on their own. The real issue is having a 15 watt amp. It should be OK with the mids and highs, but there's no way an amp like that can drive the woofer properly. That also makes it very difficult for the sub. If the sub can pick up where the Puppies leave off when driven properly, that's one thing. That's not the case here. To get the sub working well, it will have to take care of frequencies that Puppy should be dealing with. It shouldn't have to do that. You would have to try it to be sure, but my guess would be that you would hear the sub strain/distort because its working outside its range, or you can let the sub work properly which would almost certainty leave a gap in the lower frequencies that neither speaker is producing. How bad would it be? I can't say for sure because there is a lot of factors involved that you would have to just try it to find out. Also, you would have to figure in the subjective part of the equation. For me personally, the highs have to be just right and I can live with less than perfect bass. It can be the exact opposite for someone else.

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Thanks ZD, very informative. I learn new stuff all time here.
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