I just read all about the Rhythm preamp on the company's website. It may well sound great, but as an owner of the ARC Ref 6SE, I won't be going out of my way to audition one based on what I saw there.
Even though this product doesn’t have my name written on it, I'm quite interested to read your impressions of it, if you go ahead with the purchase. Best of luck finding your endgame preamp, wherever that takes you.
- Though not stated explicitly, I surmise the preamp employs single-ended circuitry internally. That's a deal-breaker in a reference component... for me.
- The tube complement is 2 x 12au7. Seriously??
- The "technical" explanation of the superiority of their power supply technology, using a water in a barrel analogy, didn't wash. Apologies for the (bad) pun.
- From what I can tell, the remote only controls volume. The Ref 6SE remote controls practically every function of the preamp.
- The Ref 6SE has a superb display, easily visible from the listening position.
- There is no comparison in the build quality (circuit board or chassis) between the two products. The Ref 6SE wins handily.
- The Rhythm has only one XLR output; the Ref 6SE has two, which is critical in my setup.
Oh you're right. I didn't see anything mentioned about it being fully balanced. let me ask them and I'll share their reply. the current iteration is 1.4 which adds a second xlr output and a few other changes to circuitry/gain stage.
wouldn't mind a REF 6SE myself.. but it's a bit out of my price range and I think might look a bit too big on my rack.