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Review 1 of 2
Price Paid:
$2000.00
from ovation audio Summary:
Prior to getting the AR gear, I went through a Kenwood receiver ... the VR 6070 I think... and a Denon AVR 4802. I came across AR for the first time at a mid hifi store in Toronto with the complete alpha cd player and the integre running into a pair of Martin Logan Clarity speakers. That sound started a journey that has led me and my wife into the world of high fidelity audio. I was mesmerized that day, and the virus started working immediately ... "what was I to do to get a system like that?" became an never-ending question ...
fast forward a year, and to my great fortune I did have the opportunity to run through all of AR's gear (cd player, integre, pre-5, pre-2 DSP, and Multi-5) in my home through 2 different systems (a 2 channel and a HT).
I am now left with the Pre-2 DSP and the Multi-5 in my HT system, so I'll start with the Pre-2 DSP.
Overall I find the sound of this AR processor supremely musical compared to the receivers I previously owned (especially the Denon which had a terribly annoying treble bite inherent in its preamp despite its decent resolution, and I could not rid myself of it even after I got the Multi-5, therefore I went out and got the Pre-2 DSP also). Soundstaging depth, width and focus are much better than anything in its class and it matches the AVM-20 from Anthem in all these areas and surpasses it in resolution. Above all it's musical enough that it can be enjoyed for non-critical listening. Bass management is I think one of the weaker areas in this processor. Despite a number of attempts to change this I have had moderate success (an audioquest (AQ) NRG-5 powercord (PC) on it and an AQ king cobra sub cable out to my Tannoy TS-10 sub have provided the best results so far, but deep bass resolution and articulation are still lacking, even in 2 channel mode when running the speakers full range). The highs are crystal clear as others have mentioned but can become fatiguing rather quickly when used for extended music listening, and that is quickly evident with electrostatic speakers. I found that the monster sigma retro gold interconnects (IC) and speaker cables (SC) were the absolute best match for the AR gear (only it becomes rather expensive to run an entire HT with such cables). Clarity, focus through both highs and lows as well as that magical sense of air became evident with the sigmas and made me realize how good the AR gear is. Only problem really was the mild fatigue in the highs (which for the most part is related to the preamp, afterall YBA is known for their amps, not their preamps/processors where they still have a ways to go). Careful system matching does help alleviate this problem, and the matching AR complete alpha cd player sounds very good with it (provided that a Cardas Golden Reference pc is used here with either sigma ic's or cardas neutral reference ic's, otherwise it can sound rather digital), but with those considerations in mind I was able to find a pretty good balance throughout the system with neutral tonality, decent bass and non-fatiguing highs. I tried a variety of isolation devices on it ranging from Goldmund cones, to Isoclean and then to Symposium junior rollerblocks which were the best.
The Multi-5 amp is better than the pre-2 DSP and can with a better processor or preamp bring more joy. In its price class this amp is the BEST. I liked it better than the Rotel/Anthem/Arcam/NAD competitors and easily as good if not better in terms of decay than the Bryston ST series (which sounded dull in comparison). Furthermore, I found through experience that the AR gear is very sensitive to pc's. I tried aq's NRG-2/3/5 pc's on it, cardas' golden power and golden reference (poor choices for amps, slow the pace down too much) and revelation audio labs' precept and precept II (OK, the precept was serious overkill for it but at least I know that the NRG-5 was the way to go here). Overall this amp offers a level of transparency that is only beaten once you get into the 5K price range (not surprisingly, since it's made by YBA), a wide soundstage, but depth is not optimal, good tight bass (but limited here by the pre-2 DSP), excellent highs for the money, fluid and rich tube-like midrange.
I do think that silver ic's and sc's should be avoided with AR gear due to the rather fatiguing highs it can accomplish with such cables. Copper is greatly preferred unless the source is in a higher league than the AR components and even then it can be risky.
MY system:
Modwright Sony NS999ES with signature truth level upgrades (monster sigma ic's with shunyata black mamba v2 pc on player and RAL precept II on tube power supply, with RAL umbilical)
AR Pre-2 DSP and Multi-5 (with aq NRG-5 pc's and RAL Paradise ic's inbetween)
Martin Logan speakers (Aeon i's, Logos, Clarity's)
Cardas Cross sc to fronts and center, Mit Terminator 2 sc to rears
Value: 5 stars (cost/perfomance)
Overall: 4 stars (nowhere near reference quality but still best for the money) Strengths:
price/performance ratio
sensitive to various powercords make sound adjustment possible relative to listener's preference
realtively large sweet spot compared to receivers and separates in the same price class
transparency
midrange
looks
very versatile processor for a basic 5.1 setup
Pre-2 DSP in digital mode definitely has better low end content for movies when compared to the Pre-5 in 5.1 analog mode from the same source (marantz dv-8300 and modwright sony ns999es used for this comparison, audio refinement complete alpha cd player also made a good choice but had the most pronounced digital edge of the three, with the modified Sony sounding best by a wide margin ... at more than double the price too). Weaknesses:
isolation feet are poor, and the ceramic upgrades only further accentuate the fatigue in the highs
original powercords provided are garbage and seriously detract from the true potential of this gear
bass is limited, but can be benficial for speakers that have resonance problems with deep bass due to cabinet bracing (i.e. Monitor Audio S8, Mordaunt Short 914, Martin Logan Clarity). Similar Products Used:
Kenwood and Denon receivers, auditioned anthem avm-20 and avm-30, couldn't justify the upgrade since I could not use/test the XLR paths. I suspect EAD, Meridian, Theta or Halcro are the way to go for truly significant upgrades.
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