audio research ref 250 monoblocks

tdh888

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Nov 4, 2010
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Hi ,

Does anyone here in this forum has seen or listened to the Ref 250. Our dealer already has it and Ive not find the time to listen to it. My dealers amp are I think the first pair to come out of the factory. Serial no.'s 1 and 2. I hope I can listen to it w/in this week.


tdh888
 

Ron Party

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Apr 30, 2010
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Supposedly they will be on display at the California Audio Show this coming weekend.
 

tdh888

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Thanks Ron for the reply.

If you'll have the chance to listen to them please give us a feedback/opinion regarding the amps performance.

thanks in advance,

tdh888
 

MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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How does one give an opinion on some amps that are heard in a room they have never been in and connected to other equipment they may or may not have ever heard?

Ive asked people to do that and realized that it made no sense ... At least to me.

Well if it sounds good it's worth investigating. If it sounds bad, then it's still worth investigating. And I filter out anything in the bass at shows :) Another way is to look at a component that several good sounding rooms have in common. That might be worth investigating.
 

tdh888

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Nov 4, 2010
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Well if it sounds good it's worth investigating. If it sounds bad, then it's still worth investigating. And I filter out anything in the bass at shows :) Another way is to look at a component that several good sounding rooms have in common. That might be worth investigating.

I agree w/ you Myles.
 

jadis

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Apr 28, 2010
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Well if it sounds good it's worth investigating. If it sounds bad, then it's still worth investigating. And I filter out anything in the bass at shows :) Another way is to look at a component that several good sounding rooms have in common. That might be worth investigating.

Agreed too. Sometimes one needs a certain 'gut feel' when listening at showroom conditions. That's why reviewers always put forth their associated equipment when reviewing. It may not give us the most accurate 'picture' of the sound but it gives us clues on what the gear can or can not do with the given set of equipment used.
 

microstrip

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I always take shows "the positive way". If it sounds very good or exceptional I take note of it and try to listen focusing on the best aspects. If it sounds bad to me, I consider that unhappily I was not able to listen to the equipment presented in good conditions this time. Surely next time I will be in presence of the equipments my "expectation bias" will be tuned ... We are humans. :rolleyes:

After reading at the Audio Research site that the new "50" amplifier series makes to the amplifiers a change similar to what the Anniversary preamplifier did to preamplifiers, and knowing of the REF150 quality, the expectation bias on the REF250s is now great!

BTW, when I go to shows I want to enjoy the good things of them - equipment demos, music, friends and nice meals ...
 

jadis

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Apr 28, 2010
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I always take shows "the positive way". If it sounds very good or exceptional I take note of it and try to listen focusing on the best aspects. If it sounds bad to me, I consider that unhappily I was not able to listen to the equipment presented in good conditions this time. Surely next time I will be in presence of the equipments my "expectation bias" will be tuned ... We are humans. :rolleyes:

After reading at the Audio Research site that the new "50" amplifier series makes to the amplifiers a change similar to what the Anniversary preamplifier did to preamplifiers, and knowing of the REF150 quality, the expectation bias on the REF250s is now great!

BTW, when I go to shows I want to enjoy the good things of them - equipment demos, music, friends and nice meals ...

Likewise, I'm 'positive' when it comes to shows. The first high end audio show I attended back in 1990 was in HK. And all the audio big guns where showing their top wares - Rockport, Sequerra, Wilson, Infinity, Apogee, B&W, Magnepan, etc. All were fascinating, one way or the other, and as I peered inside the small B&W room, they had the new Series 3 of the 801 Matrix playing real good music I was a bit glued. I looked at their electronics and they were paired with Adcom. When I went home, I talked to the local dealer and ordered a pair of 801s.
 

jadis

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tdh888

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Nov 4, 2010
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Hi,

Thanks for posting the pictures. I have seen them in the flesh and heard them in our local dealer 2 weeks ago. (System: VPI HRX w/ JMW 12.6 arm,Koetsu Black,ARc Ref Phono2,ARC Ref Anniversary Linestage,Avalon Ascent Mk 1 speakers,Shunyata Anaconda power chords,All top of the line MIT I.C. and speaker cables) . Try to visit him once he comes back from his Mediterranean cruise on the 25th of next month. They sound good out of the box but cant wait to hear them until they're fully broken in .

tdh888
 

microstrip

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Hi,

Thanks for posting the pictures. I have seen them in the flesh and heard them in our local dealer 2 weeks ago. (System: VPI HRX w/ JMW 12.6 arm,Koetsu Black,ARc Ref Phono2,ARC Ref Anniversary Linestage,Avalon Ascent Mk 1 speakers,Shunyata Anaconda power chords,All top of the line MIT I.C. and speaker cables) . Try to visit him once he comes back from his Mediterranean cruise on the 25th of next month. They sound good out of the box but cant wait to hear them until they're fully broken in .

tdh888

Were they final production units? The ones shown at the factory seem to be prototypes (or at less the back panel looks very crude compared to usual ARC standards).
 

tdh888

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Nov 4, 2010
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Yes they are the production units not prototypes. Serial no.01 and 02 the first one's in the production run. They had black faceplates.


tdh888
 

mep

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Were they final production units? The ones shown at the factory seem to be prototypes (or at less the back panel looks very crude compared to usual ARC standards).

Those were clearly prototypes.
 

wizard

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Oct 17, 2010
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250 at Hong Kong Audio Show



 

jadis

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Wow, seems like everyone's rooms have suddenly gone super wide, and so do the speakers placement. :)
 

dafos

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Sep 17, 2010
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Also notice the spanking new latest iteration of the sonus amati, the futura. But I believe that ARC still uses Wilson speakers at the factory.
 

KeithR

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May 7, 2010
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Love that they went back to using meters---compared to that digital crap on the prior versions.

Then again, I own Mcintosh :)

cost is around 25k right?
 

jadis

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Apr 28, 2010
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Listened to a pair of Ref 250s with Magico Minis yesterday and the sound is smooth, warm and very pleasing to the ears. It's far from the burn in period and at this point the sound indeed is very satisfactory and pleasant. The power is just what the inefficient Minis needed to drive it to suitable levels. We played a few versions of Cat Steven's Father and Son cut on LP and we were still able to hear differences between each recordings. This is definitely one great amp. Biasing is very easy on the front plate with the familiar analog meters and inside is a very useful 'tube meter'. Beautifully made too.
 

dafos

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Sep 17, 2010
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Thanks for the compliment Philip. Having heard the ref 150, 250 and a 610 fitted with kt 120's I cant help but think that ARC has somewhat reverted back to a more classic tube sound. That typical 6550 slight upper mid glare of previous ARC amps is gone, banished. At the same time, images are denser, tonal colors more fleshed out. These 250's are the first amps I've tried that really seem to fully control and extract the difficult Mini's potential. It's almost unreal how a two way can pressurize a close to 500 sq/ft room driven by the ref 250. But as I earlier pointed out, I definitely hear a pervasive tube like warmth and bloom, a trait that I really like so I'm hoping that these amps' sonic character don't radically change as it approaches ARC's claimed 600 hour break in period.
 
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