Update on 3 preamps I received for demo yesterday: the ARC Ref5SE, Luxman c700u and Ayre KX-R Twenty. extended listening session with a good friend and some fine Scotch to take advantage of very generous trial.
First up: Ref5SE. the match with my system initially had kind of a 'wow' effect. really BIG sound. you can hear the crowd, you can feel the reverb on notes, the bottom end kind of washes over you, you feel the music, big big impact. it is a really full, lush, big sound to me. on first listen, my friend said right away, "this is the best your system has ever sounded". i liked it a lot... and will continue to listen to this. BUT... I fear that the overall impact on the rest of the system is just a little too much. this pre certainly does not tame the H30 at all - it creates a really big, bold, wide, large sound. on first listen, it is really startling. would it be fatiguing on a regular basis, and with a wide range of music genres?
Next up: Luxman. the words that come to mind are silky smooth... refined... natural. No hard edges at all here. Oh so classy. just plain EASY to listen to. yes, there is more visceral impact with the ARC product, but if I owned the ARC, I worry about fatigue with those qualities. the combo with the ARC is just possibly too aggressive.
With the Luxman, I feel that beautiful music is being created in the room. I can picture sipping on a scotch, with any type of music, and just getting lost. the components disappear a lot more with this. I just hear sweet music being created in front of me. no potential headaches, no fatigue. organic... easy... just really, really classy and effortless. beautiful tone.
switch over Ayre. I know this needs more time to be at its best, but it's just not the sound I'm reaching for. clearly an outstanding product, but I don't get the emotional connection to the music that I'm looking for.
we go back to Ref5SE and Luxman one more time. my feelings are confirmed... the Ref5SE I think is just too bold a match. listening to some live Dead recordings and it is really a remarkable sound... but I think it is just too much. the Luxman may not have quite the same feeling of being at a live musical event as the Ref5SE - but it just effortlessly creates beautiful music.
still haven't heard the VAC and a couple others, but this made me REALLY want to hear the c900u from Luxman. on a side note, I don't generally get into aesthetics of the components much, but the Luxman is one beautiful piece of gear. classy look, classy sound. I loved it.
Might VAC or some other tube (or c900u?) strike a balance between the easy, loveable and beautiful nature of the Luxman and the very ALIVE sounding Ref5SE?
