REF750SE vs VTL Siegfried Mk2

dafos

Well-Known Member
Sep 17, 2010
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Well the system is located over 60 miles south of Manila, and while by no means a great distance, you experienced first hand the paralyzing travel time it took to cover the less than 4 miles between Jacks place and mine.
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
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Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
Ha!--Luv the K sign!:D

BD

Yes, I luv the "ParKing" sign too. :cool: I also love the painting/design...on the front wall between the two flankers.
..."Let the mind roll with the world's flying all directions of the ? imagination. Take us where magic reality is served as the main entry. The sanctuary of life".
 

tdh888

Well-Known Member
Nov 4, 2010
298
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Philippines
Hi Jack , Steve ,

Your'e welcome anytime to visit just give us a day or two to adjust are schedule, so you guys can also meet some of the members of our small group here in the south about 1 hour 45 mins away from Dafos home.

Hi Dafos ,

It seems the REF 6 sounds dynamic , explosive w/o being aggressive compared to both REF10 & the 5SE . Although we have not directly compared them. Our local dealer Lito G might be able to help you regarding your question. He had a REF 10 2-3 weeks ago , but he sold it.

tdh888
 

tdh888

Well-Known Member
Nov 4, 2010
298
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well that is a super size room alright - yikes!

Thats why the flagship amps are needed when playing music specially symphonic spectaculars .

Tdh888
 

marty

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
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I may be one of the few people who actually owned the Flagship ARC 610s and then sold them to purchase VTL Siegrieds. The reason for the sale was driven by one key fact. The 610's were unreliable and both blew up in short order, not unlike several of my previous ARC amps. And when an ARC amp blows up, you generally have to send it back to Minnesota because it often takes resistors with the tube that blows (which also results in a charred circuit board). I won't argue the merits of the latest ARC and VTL heavy weight amps, but I can tell you that when the Siggies go, the amp has indicator lights that tell you which tube to replace and the entire tube replacement exercise is done in about 2 minutes before you're up and running again. I know its crazy to say this, btu blowing a tube in my Siegfrieds was one of the most delightful audio experiences I ever had because Luke did a great job configuring a consumer solution that was effortless and efficient. If I lived in the Philippines, I'd sure think long and hard about that before deciding which amp I'd buy.

Two other comments. Anyone who is not listening to the Siggies in triode mode doesn't know what they are missing. If you need 800W/side, fine, consider tetrode mode. but if you have a speaker where 400w is adequate, there is no comparison. The dimensionality and detail of triode wins every time, at least it did for me. I far preferred KT88s to 6550 but admit to having no experience with the KT-120 or 150 tubes in either amp, which I'd really like to hear.

Finally, you have to wonder, if Dave/Darly Wilson have the opportunity to use any tube amp they please to develop, voice and demo their WAMM Chronosonics, might there just be some reason they too prefer the VTL Siegfrieds?
 
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Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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. . .

Anyone who is not listening to the Siggies in triode mode doesn't know what they are missing. If you need 800W/side, fine, consider tetrode mode. but if you have a speaker where 400w is adequate, there is no comparison. The dimensionality and detail of triode wins every time, at least it did for me.

. . .

+1
 

tdh888

Well-Known Member
Nov 4, 2010
298
28
935
Philippines
Hi Marty & Ron ,

I agree ( Siegfried series 1 & 2 ) I prefer them in Triode Mode as well. It reminds me of my ARC Classic 150 monoblocks in tbe midrange w/c I had for 11 years. Both series 1 & 2 owners in our group prefer this amps in Tetrode , and according to Luke when I had chat w/ him 2-3 yrs ago he prefers it in Tetrode while while his wife Bea prefers it in Triode mode . Regarding the reliability of these amps . They also had they're up's & down but good thing is after market support from the dealer is excellent . Like the new cars of today , there is a diagnostic port were the service team can plug a lap top for diagnostics. But if the problem is intermittent ( muting for no reason at all ) it also took a long time and many visit from the service crew . Diagnosis & sorting out the problem was made when the finally stopped working and because of these final diagnosis was finally made.
Regarding the REF 610's reliability more often than not its the power tubes w/c takes out the resistor's w/ it. Good thing after market support by the local dealer is superb and immediately sends the Tech w/ the appropriate tube & resistor. But in my 1 yr of my ownership I had a problem w/ the small signal tube ( 6NIP ) w/c took out the IC regulator and its capacitor. Good thing there was excellent aftermarket dealer & factory support . It took the tech quite some time to fix / figure out what went wrong w/ my amps and because parts are being sourced from the factory , shipping etc. When it was sorted out its been reliable . But these amps are great and I think its a keeper becaus they sound great , and its the last amps Bill Johnson designed.

930
 
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Argonaut

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2013
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Hi Dafos ,

It seems the REF 6 sounds dynamic , explosive w/o being aggressive compared to both REF10 & the 5SE . Although we have not directly compared them. Our local dealer Lito G might be able to help you regarding your question. He had a REF 10 2-3 weeks ago , but he sold it.

tdh888

Well...Having run with an REF10 in my own system for close on 3 years now and having expearieriance of the REF 6 In private demonstrations and more recently in the system of an acquaintance I simply do not recognise the comparison above.

Whilst the REF 6 is a superb piece of equipment and an evolution of the 5se, however the REF10 is IMHO superior to the REF 6 in all aspects and most certainly not aggressive on dynamics by comparison, somewhat baffled by your post tdh888.
 
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tdh888

Well-Known Member
Nov 4, 2010
298
28
935
Philippines
Well...Having run with an REF10 in my own system for close on 3 years now and having expearieriance of the REF 6 In private demonstrations and more recently in the system of an acquaintance I simply do not recognise the comparison above.

Whilst the REF 6 is a superb piece of equipment and an evolution of the 5se the REF10 is IMHO superior to it in all aspects and most certainly not aggressive on dynamics by comparison, somewhat baffled by your post tdh888.

Hi Harlequin,

Thats was my impression when I had the chance to listen to the REF 6 . It sounds so alive when I listened to it the first time w/ a REF 150 SE w / a SF Speaker , then in my friend's current system w/ the REF 750SE. But I've not heard it compared directly to the REF 10 , Ive heard the REF 10 linestage together w/ the REF 10 phonostage in another friends system w/ the REF 750 w/ the SF Aida a lot of times. W / regards to my statement regarding explosive w/o being aggressive , I was not referring to the REF 10 & REF 5SE( I apologize for the confusion) I was referring to the sonics of the REF 6. It seems my impression is its alive and more dynamic than both REF 10 LS & my 5SE , but its hard to say w/o a direct comparison. I cant recall the REF 10 LS & REF 5 being aggressive. Regarding my reply to Dafos as I've mentioned I referred him to our local dealer ( audio research importer since 1989) who had compared them both extensively .

Tdh888

Tdh888
 
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