[dollarman]

Hi folks,


After a couple of months of auditioning different speakers I ended up with Peak Consult Empress. To my ears they are the most effortless and natural sounding speakers that I have ever heard. Currently they sound quiet impressive even paired with my relatively inexpensive CODA C300 amp but I want to switch to tubes plus the bass with the C300 is a bit reserved although quiet artculate and refined.


After a bit of deliberation the most logical choice for me seems to be the new ARC REF110. I would have a chance to listen to this amp in my own setup this week but unfortunately it will be only for 1-2 days. I have listened to VS55 paired with the Empress and based on what I remember the sound was beautiful therefore I am quiet sure I will like the REF110.


However despite the fact I loved the ARC tube sound the concerns I have with this amp are:


1) Would 110 watts be enough for fill my 330 sq feet room specially for HT with a sub xovered at 80 Hz? The Empress is 90dB sensitive (88.5 as per Stereophile) and a fairly easy load:

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloud...ak/index4.html


2) The other concern I have is the bass response of this amp. AFAIK the tubes can't match the bass response of an SS amp and this is a bit of a worry as the Empress is not the last word in bass slam so the amp has to be good in this area to produce a good overall bass reponse.


My dealer has assured me that the REF110 shoule be ok in both these areas of concern but I am not sure. Would I be better off with a Pass X250.5 which everyone seem to say has an excellent bass response and enough power? The problem is that I have never heard a Pass amp in my life and finding one for a home audition in Switzerland would be quiet difficult.


Thanks in advance for any ideas you would like to share.


Sincerely,

-dollarman

 

[dollarman]

Hi guys,


Just a small update. I had a chat with Leonard at ARC and he told me that they have launched a new hydrid amp called HD220, announced at CES 2007, which is 220 wpc with tube input stage and SS output stage. He said that this amp gives very little away in SQ compared to the all tube REF110 and being hybrid does not have problems/maintenance like biasing, blown tubes etc. The MSRP is 9K so a little less expensive than the 110.


This amp currently does not show up on the ARC website yet but should come up during this week. I think now I would like to A/B these 2 amps and if they are close specially in mids, which is where I expect 110 to be better, I will take the 220.


BTW I know a couple of AVSers went to CES so did any of you heard this amp and have any impressions to share?


Sincerely,

-dollarman


P.S. Found some details here:
http://arcdb.ws/HD220/HD220.html

 

[crackyflipside]



Quote:
Originally Posted by dollarman /forum/post/0


Hi guys,


Just a small update. I had a chat with Leonard at ARC and he told me that they have launched a new hydrid amp called HD220, announced at CES 2007, which is 220 wpc with tube input stage and SS output stage. He said that this amp gives very little away in SQ compared to the all tube REF110 and being hybrid does not have problems/maintenance like biasing, blown tubes etc. The MSRP is 9K so a little less expensive than the 110.


This amp currently does not show up on the ARC website yet but should come up during this week. I think now I would like to A/B these 2 amps and if they are close specially in mids, which is where I expect 110 to be better, I will take the 220.


BTW I know a couple of AVSers went to CES so did any of you heard this amp and have any impressions to share?


Sincerely,

-dollarman


P.S. Found some details here:
http://arcdb.ws/HD220/HD220.html

See if you can get your dealer to let you audition the amp at home. Assuming they are relatively the same type of amplification, I would take the amp that could output more wattage. Then there will be less stress on the amplifier when you are playing at listening levels. I don't really see how there can be a real big difference in the mids since low-frequencies and very high-frequencies is where typical amps tend to suffer.