ARC REF PHONO2
default -- Sun, 05/10/2009 - 23:49
Audio Research announced a new reference phono stage...it will be based on the new Ref3 chasis and will have decca and columbia equalization...much like taking Boulder phono stage at its own game...cant wait to hear it.... it will have a plexiglass top cover for those who would like to see the inside...msrp? thats the wait...
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http://arcdb.ws/REFPHONO2/REFPHONO2.html
Looks like they took a lesson from the AMR PH-77.
The AMR has three inputs, not two. Input impedance loading is user adjustable and is set up for many cartridges with names displayed on the front panel, all selected from the remote control.
Brian Walsh
Essential Audio ~ Chicago area ~ 773-809-HIFI (4434)
saw the ref phono 2 in munich hifi show...and i have the pic...but cant seem to upload
here is the link to the ref2 phono stage pics
http://www.lotusconcept.com/cpg/displayimage.php?album=13&pos=1
I should be getting the Reference Phono 2 for review at the beginning of next month. I will post details and photos as soon as it arrives.
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ARC claims the unit is fully balanced, yet the inputs are single ended only.
How do you use a balanced cable from the tonearm with it? Do I assume correctly that both pairs of single ended inputs need to be used simultaneously with one of them inverting, requiring special cabling? Does ARC provide a single ended/balanced input switch somewhere to accommodate this?
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Brian Walsh
Essential Audio ~ Chicago area ~ 773-809-HIFI (4434)
I don't know the answer to this, Brian, since I don't have the preamp in hand.
Thanks Jon, I suggest it's worth checking out what's necessary in terms of cabling and what it takes to avoid hum, since some readers would want to use balanced, given the unit's description as such.
Brian Walsh
Essential Audio ~ Chicago area ~ 773-809-HIFI (4434)
Brian,
I've used balanced inputs on phonostages and unbalanced, and balanced is not a cure for hum or RFI--at least not in my neck of the woods.
Jon
As have I, and I don't think my post implied anything one way or the other. Still, I hope you will investigate what I described and report on it, for the sake of being thorough.
Brian Walsh
Essential Audio ~ Chicago area ~ 773-809-HIFI (4434)
Will do! And sorry if I misconstrued your previous post.
This should answer your questions.
http://www.audioresearch.com/ReferencePhono2.html
Thanks. I had seen that before posting. It does not answer my questions.
Brian Walsh
Essential Audio ~ Chicago area ~ 773-809-HIFI (4434)
This is from ARC's site:
"The Reference Phono 2 is a fully balanced design with an input circuit that allows its RCA inputs to operate in a balanced configuration without requiring an inverter."
Yes, as indicated above I read that. It omits information and does not answer my questions.
Brian Walsh
Essential Audio ~ Chicago area ~ 773-809-HIFI (4434)
I have the Ref 2 in house and am burning it it before spending much time listening. 200 hours is recommended and I have a cheap CD player running through a reverse RIAA circuit doing the deed. I've sneaked a few peaks here and there and can report it sounds pretty special even without break-in, although much better after it hit 100 hours. To answer the balance question, it only accepts RCA in from the tonearm. Period, thus mooting the follow-up questions.
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If the statement quoted by SundayNiagara above does not indicate being able to handle a balanced signal coming in, RCA connectors notwithstanding, then your point is taken but also raises the question why bother with balanced. Parts count and cost go up a lot.
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Brian Walsh
Essential Audio ~ Chicago area ~ 773-809-HIFI (4434)
"If the statement quoted by SundayNiagara above does not indicate being able to handle a balanced signal coming in, RCA connectors notwithstanding, then your point is taken but also raises the question why bother with balanced. Parts count and cost go up a lot."
Brian, is it just pure coincidence that you're not an ARC dealer?
balanced phono is indeed no instant cure for RFI problems. though cartridge is in itself a balanced source.
any RCA connector can be used as a balanced connector. no need to have the Neutrik XLR. the only thing which differs are the schematics behind that RCA. and yes indeed: a true balanced amplifier will always and per definition have twice the amplification parts opposed to SE version.
the only reason the Neutrik XLR came into the home audio scene is because it was and is widely used in professional audio. and lets agree on that XLR connector as having many advantages.
I don't see true balanced phono as a bringer of all solutions. but when exited very well, it does offers better noise surpression, and an extra 6dB 'free' gain. but the double parts and execution lays a much heavier task on the designers... i loved my BAT VKP-10 at that time, great phonostage which also offered true balanced input. Refphono2 may very well be product of 2009. well see.
i have got mine yesterday...its a beast//in a ref3 chasis... however need my cable upgrade before i can listen to it...torture in the mean time
C'mon JV, talk to us!
Stay tuned. I'm about to post a blog on the Ref 2.
another thriller from jv....come on jv.... i am already frustrated staring at the beauty ...spill it out pls
The blog is now up. I will have considerably more to say about the Ref 2 on our Golden Ears Club site in the near future, including detailed observations about its superb sound.
Do the Golden Club members get info that is not available on the public site? I thought it was mainly a place to get some deals / arrangements with manufacturers - which would be of no interest for non-US based people.
If the good info is going to the paid-up members only, the rest will probably end up leaving this site.
Zeb,
Don't worry: The "good info" will not be restricted to the Golden Ears Club, although members will get some "perks" in the way of advanced looks at select reviews. (For instance, my Odyssey Khartago review is currently sitting on the GE site even though it won't be published in the print mag for another few weeks.)
Jon
Right here, Jon.
Hello:
Someone please post here about the RefPhono2. Jon's blog appears to be dead and buried.
Sunday,
As requested here are my latest findings:
After considerable listening i've come to the conclusion that the ARC Reference 2 is overall the most realistic phonostage I've yet heard. It not only has the beauty of timbre and texture, the low-level detail, the dimensionality, the breadth of stage and image that I expect from a tube unit; it has the superb transient speed, the low end extension and power, the treble extension and power, and the low noise floor that I expect from a solid-state unit. The Reference 2 is proof positive that ARC--after years of improvements along these lines--has finally succeeded in melding tube and transistor virtues in almost full measures. It is really quite an achievement.
On the functional side, let me also say that the Ref 2 seems to sound best with 47k loading (regardless of cartridge), is just as good through its RCA outputs as it is through its balanced outputs, and mates up superbly well with very-high-quality solid-state units, like Soulution or BAlabo. In other words this is a phonostage for all applications, not just a companion piece for other ARC products.
However, let me also add a qualification. While I think the Ref 2 is overall the most realistic phonostage I've heard, it does not beat the competition in every single way. For instance, the Audio Tekne TEA-2000 does not have the low noise floor, the bass extension, resolution, and impact, the treble extension, speed, and articulation, or the top-to-bottom dynamics of the Ref 2. BUT, it is more finely detailed in the mid-to-upper midband. Consider the cut "Forget About It" from the MoFi LP on Alison Krauss and Union Station Live. Krauss's voice has a distinctive tremolo. Though the ARC reproduces the tremolo, it also rather condenses it, or, to put this a bit differently, does not reproduce it with all the clarity, delicacy, and duration of the Audio Tekne. In addition, the Ref 2 is a little dark sounding overall (unusual in an ARC product of any kind)--at least it is with the solid-state linestages and amps I've been using. Now understand that I haven't heard the Ref 2 with the Ref 5 linestage and the 610Ts yet as I've been concentrating on solid-state for upcoming reviews and just haven't found the time to swap things out. It may be that these small differences in articulation and duration and balance will vanish in an all-ARC system (or, with further run-in time). Stay tuned for further thoughts.
Jon
C'mon Jon, it's almost September!
Hi Jon, just a quirk i noticed. Switching the to se mode on my ref 3 using the balanced output of the ref phono renders a higher output than using the se output of the ref phono to se input of the ref. Further, the sound using the balanced out but switched to se mode in my ref 3 sounds better, fuller than an se to se connection. I do agree with you that when using the balanced out to the balanced in, aside from the slightly lower gain, se is just as good as balanced. Wonder if you noticed this quirk? Sonically? NIRVANA
Jon:
Please update the REF Phono2!