Breath-taking velocity
Inserted in place of my REF5SE, between the
astonishing Marantz SA- 11S3 SACD player and the REF75 stereo power amplifier,
driving Wilson Sophia 3s, the REF10 taught me a lesson with the impact of a
slap in the face. As amazing as I found the SA- 11S3 when reviewed with the
Marantz PM- 11S3 (HFN Feb ’12), I had no idea quite how superior a disc spinner
it is. Running the system in completely balanced mode, with YTER and
Transparent cables, it was a short, sharp demonstration of the value of
monumental dynamic contrasts.
It didn’t take much: I slipped the Bee
Gees’ magnificent ‘You Win Again’, from the CD Mythology and the impact of the
track’s rhythm-setting percussion exhibited weight and mass, underneath those
ethereal vocals. It brought to mind seemingly impossible concoctions like a
Tequila Sunrise, its colors striated with geometric exactitude.
True
dual-mono power supply features valve regulation, one 6H30 and one 6550WE per
channel, with a couple of spares in the box. Two-channel topology extends to
two connecting cables
Followed immediately by the scratchy
percussion and funk guitar of ‘Jive Talkin’’, the REF10 flaunted the sort of
attack that used to be the metaphorical club with which the solid-state brigade
beat on tube aficionados. Crisp? Precise? Think of one of those almost-effete
wafers beloved of haute cuisine chefs, adorning some artistic appetizer: it
hovers, it’s ephemeral, yet it has ‘snap’. Fast notes speed by with
breath-taking velocity. There’s definable decay, but only when it’s in the
recording.
Inspired by the strings on ‘To Love
Somebody’, I turned to the magnificently restrained violins on Julie London’s
heart-stopping rendition of ‘Bewitched’. I was after silkiness, texture, a hint
of richness – nothing so demanding as the stop/start of transients. It was a
test of ‘valve-ness’ amidst the modernity. Lest you think that the
mock-transistor authority of this unit’s dynamic speed and control implies a
hardening of the sound, fear not. The REF10’s comportment is so warm I wanted
to name it after one of our cats.
A rosy future
It’s been a tumultuous few years for Audio
Research: the passing of founder Bill Johnson, a change of ownership and
dealing with the continued onslaught of a digital future. CEO Terry Dorn
explained how this has affected the brand, especially in determining its
future.
Fine Sounds’ acquisition of Audio Research
in January 2008 was the beginning of a renovation of the brand from the inside.
They provided insight and direction in terms of internal organization, manufacturing
and back office processes, company policies and procedures. We have spent
considerable effort streamlining company operations with the aid of a
completely integrated software platform combining purchasing, manufacturing,
technical services and accounting’.
Fine Sounds’ direction includes concern for
the company’s future health and security, already demonstrated by group’s
earlier purchase of Sonus Faber, which has gone from strength. Says Terry,
‘That is happening with products that combine advanced digital technology with
our core analogue roots, like the DSPre and the REF DAC. Fine Sounds has not
directed our hand in terms of product development – their instructions have
been to continue to evolve the legacy “DNA” that is Audio Research, to best serve
existing customers while appealing to first-time Audio Research buyers. They’re
given us complete freedom’.
Utter
clarity: every input and output offered with single-ended or balanced
connectivity, the upper row the right channel and the lower for the left. Note
twin multi-pin connectors for the external power supply’s umbilical cords
Lost in space
Ms. London followed ‘Bewitched’ with a take
of ‘I Left My Heart In San Francisco’ that almost makes you forget Tony
Bennett’s definitive version. London, it must be said, could make ‘Shaddap You
Face’ sound sexy… With the REF10 it was sonic choreography, a dance between her
voice and the instruments. Given the golden-eta Capitol origins, the real
arbiter of excellence would be the spatial recreation. With ‘I Got It Bad (And
That Ain’t Good)’, we have a wall-to-wall facsimile of a 1960s bachelor pad.
Suddenly, your toes are lost in the deepest pile carpet ever woven.
It was space and atmosphere in the
dimensional sense – true depth, width and height and with the sounds layered so
convincingly that you wish 5.1 systems were as successful. Lazy guitar,
sounding like Les Paul on Quaaludes, floats out of the left speaker so real, so
liquid that you go a bit woozy. It’s two glasses of Amarone in quick
succession. There’s no impression of flat images arrayed like old-style 3D
movies. London is in front of you, the instruments around her, never crowding.
I thought my walls had moved outward. But who am I kidding? I had a miracle of
an SACD player in the system.
In goes Rory Block’s Last Fair Deal (Telarc
SACD63593). The guitar work picked up a new dimension, a tingle that is part
and parcel of the bottleneck experience. It paled out against a background of
black silences, yet there was no aridity, no sense of that overly-hygienic
stripping away of the very clues that define authenticity.
Simply put, the music was rich with the
textures and nuances that are often lost though an audio chain. There was a
complete lack of artifice. The outlay will buy an entry-level tourbillon, a
decent 4x4, two cases of 1985 Sassicaia, ad infinitum. Whether someone with
$41,850 wishes, instead, to spend it on a REF10 depends on but one thing: a
unbridled lust for music.
The Verdict
No pussyfooting: this is the best-sounding
valve preamp I have ever heard, topping even the Anniversary which I thought
was part of God’s own sound system. No, I don’t enjoy touch panels, as I am an
unrepentant traditionalist/Luddite/ARC purist who prefers knobs and buttons.
But that is my problem. If you can get past its tube-preamp-violated-by-an-iPad
mean, you will love this as Hepburn loved Tracy.
Sound quality: 9/10
Lab report
Audio research REF10
ARC’s 104-step digitally-regulated volume
control operates in fine ~0.5dB steps offering about 60dB of attenuation from
‘103’ (max) down to ‘3’ (closer to 57dB in practice). If you need to reduce
volume very quickly, the IR mute button is the best option. If fully balanced
mode (XLR in/out), the REF10 provides +12.5dB of gain, double that in
single-ended mode (RCA in/out), although both present a 280ohm source
impedance. The four 6H30P double-triodes per side promise huge headroom (the
maximum input level is >20V) and output levels (>30) while, under more
typical conditions, distortion is extremely well managed. At 1V output, THD is
consistently between 0.001-0.112% from 20Hz-20kHz, rising to 0.004-0.006% at 2V
and 0.01-0.05% at 10V output – this controlled ‘character’ irrespective of
frequency is impressive, particularly as THD is inherently low. The 97dB A-wtd
S/N ratio (re. 0dBV) is also very impressive as is the minuscule – 100dBV hum.
Basically, the REF10 is silent. The rated -3dB/200kHz response was not achieved
at 0dB gain, however, our sample rolling gently – and quite sensibly – away to
-0.06dB/20kHz and -6.7dB/100kHz.
Extended
frequency response (1Hz-100 kHz, black) versus output impedance (20Hz-100 kHz,
red)
If there is a very small fly struggling to
escape this technical triumph, it’s in the form of a 12.8 kHz tone (-111dB
below 1V output) that spawns a series of higher-level harmonics at 25.6 kHz
(-99dB), 38.4 kHz (-92dB), 51.2 kHz (-95dB), 64 kHz (-100dB) and so on.
Switching the display off has no effect but the tone (surely a switching or
polling artifact) is likely to originate with the panel PC in this ARC chassis.
Distortion
versus extended frequency from 5Hz-40 kHz a 0dBV (left, black; right, red)
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Specifications
§ Maximum
output (<1% THD, 47kohm): >30Vrms (Balanced)
§ Maximum
input level (<1% THD): >20Vrms (Balanced)
§ Output
impedance (20Hz-20 kHz): 320-279ohm (Balanced)
§ Frequency
response (20Hz-100 kHz): +0.01dB to -6.7dB
§ Input
sensitivity: 238mV
§ wtd
S/N ratio (re. 0dBV): 97.1dB
§ Distortion
(20 kHz-20 kHz re.0dBV): 0.0010-0.0028%
§ Power
consumption: 200W
§ Dimensions
(WHD): 480x178x394mm (each chassis)
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