WhoRu? Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Interesting thread this as I go through exactly the same search you did Jeff. Running ADAM's I have the same 10k impedance to be mindful of. Everything I have read would indicate the ARC Ref 5SE would be a bad match but your experience indicates otherwise? Have you purchased one as its one of my front runners. Also looking at Octave, there is a Jubilee for sale in Europe that has me wondering...... I've owned a few valve preamplifier's... I recently acquired a CAT SL1, it is simply stunning and the phono section in it is superb. You may want to check it out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrisles Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 Interesting thread this as I go through exactly the same search you did Jeff. Running ADAM's I have the same 10k impedance to be mindful of. Everything I have read would indicate the ARC Ref 5SE would be a bad match but your experience indicates otherwise? Have you purchased one as its one of my front runners. Also looking at Octave, there is a Jubilee for sale in Europe that has me wondering...... Hi Mondie. All i can say is that there is "theory" and then there is "reality". I wasn't aware of this "rule of thumb" before i embarked on this pre-amp journey. I just plugged in the pre's and listened and it was only when i started to post my findings on here did i become aware of such fundamentals. But yes to my ears and in my system the AR Ref5SE was the one I liked the best. But no i haven't purchased yet - other expenses keep getting in the way and unfortunately a luxury item such as this gets pushed to the side. But when i do decide to purchase i am just going to go to the top of the AR Line and get their AR Ref10 Pre. If the ARRef5SE can sound as good as it did in my system the Ref10 should sound even better i suspect. I will look at at even getting 2nd hand. As for what "should" and "shouldn't" work based on the theory of impedance all i can say is just don't strike anything off your short list simply because the "theory" tells you too. If after reading all the reviews of a certain pre and you think it might be a worthy contender then my advise would be to just try it and hear for yourself rather than rely too heavily on the "theory". I can't explain why the Ref5SE "works" with my Adam's it just does. After re-reading my private correspondence in my email and this thread I can confirm the Octaves were not for me. I tried the HP300SE, HP500SE & the HP700SE against the AR Ref5SE and i preferred the AR Ref5SE when i directly compared against all 3 of the Octaves. I did not get the chance to hear the Jubliee. I personally just wasn't a fan of the Octave "sound" which doesn't mean the AR Ref5SE is better. "I" just preferred it over the Octave's i heard. Yes each version of the Octave was better than the previous - but the overall "sound signature" of the Octaves was one i didn't warm too. I just didn't like it as much as the sound signature of the AR Ref5 SE. But of course you should take a listen to the Octaves. Referring to my notes - i used terms like "dark" & "brooding" to describe the sound of the Octave preamps - they are certainly worth a listen as it may well be a sound signature you enjoy - a lot of people do & indeed a lot of people may not even agree to these descriptors I used in my personal notes. Another Pre i would of loved to have had the chance to listen too based on everything i have read about it is the Doshi V3.0 R/C Line Stage. Good luck with your journey and I most certainly look forward to hearing what you settle on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest palexsia Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 Well quite a long journey since you looking for a suitable pre amp . Its more than 2 years since you start this thread hope you find what you looking for . Not many people has this kind of patient like you , good luck with your continue searching . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondie Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 Fantastic info thanks Jeff to someone who lives in the dark north of Scotland and has little opportunity for demo's. The 5SE is almost the perfect package to me - one box, full featured, balanced in/out, remote, informative display, long time brand with support etc. Its a serious option after reading of your experience with it multiple times. I attended a GTG yesterday and to my surprise somebody had brought along an EAR-Yoshino 912. Beautiful pre in so many ways. He has offered to bring it to my place in a few weeks so that will be an interesting comparison against my TVC. Cannot wait Cheers, Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrisles Posted May 1, 2016 Author Share Posted May 1, 2016 Well quite a long journey since you looking for a suitable pre amp . Its more than 2 years since you start this thread hope you find what you looking for . Not many people has this kind of patient like you , good luck with your continue searching . Hi Palexsia. Well at least the discovery process has finished for me. I have found what i am looking for. I just haven't yet been able to purchase it. But i will - one day :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analog brother Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 have any ref 10 been sold yet in aus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrisles Posted May 1, 2016 Author Share Posted May 1, 2016 have any ref 10 been sold yet in aus? not too sure - but they do sell for a pretty penny. Not much change out of $50k here in Oz from this reseller. I do remember about a year ago when the aussie dollar was much better than it is today I saw this same model from another reseller at the time selling for not much less than $40k http://www.lifestylestore.com.au/audio-research-reference-10-se-stereo-pre-amplifier.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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