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DSi200(f,5to6)
AudioResearch
andlikethe SP-7
amplifier,
integrated
itsfirstsolid-state
ARCunveils
Valvespecialist
to forgothe glow
die-hards
productthatmayinspire
preamp,
it'sanall-tranny
Lab:PaulMiller
KenKessler
Review:
on tubes.Thirtyyearson' ARC
re-focusing
Corporation's
udioResearch
and
all-transistor
all-valve,
manufactures
imageasa makerof valve
of
reprisals'
fear
products
without
hybrid
all-encompassing
is
so
electronics
are
that manyaudiophiles
AI,TYOUCOUIDWANT
hasbeen
that the comPanY
unaware
ARChasa near-perfect
Withthe DSi20O,
gearfor over30
producingsolid-state
allthat a true
package
that balances
productsarrivedin
years.Transistor
with
integrated'
in
an
wants
audiophile
ARC's
cataloguelongbeforeCD,custom
to seducethose
almostforced enoughflash-bang-wallop
and multichannel
installation
who can'tdealwith hair'shirtminimalism.
Butvalveshavealways
theirpresence.
the DSi200/ookslikean
Amusingly,
understand
to
so it'simportant
dominated,
due
self-abnegation,
in audiophilic
exercise
tube amps
why the doyenof post-modern
to a front panelbearingonlytwo knobs
if one
wouldevenbotherwith transistors
bi-directional
the DSi200- the company's for inputandlevel(actually
isto approach
twist-twistratherthanconventionally
amplifierintegrated
solid-state
first-ever
rotating)andonlyfour pressbuttons.
wi th a n openm ind.
'normal'
Andtheydon'tevenaddress
has
No mysteryhere:AudioResearch
ln additionto poweron/offand
functions.
alwayspreterredtubesovertrannies,and
mute,the othertwo buttonsofferfunctions
that hasn'tchanged.Butthe companyis
monoand
far
lessin demandnowadays:
pragmatic:
why
and
sawy
commercially
Howimportanttheseare
polarityinversion.
alienatethe largestpartof the market?
to you,insteadof a morecommontape
ampsalesarelogarithmically
Transistor
a USBinput'
monitorselectoror perhaps
greaterthanthoseof valveamPs,yet the
for entryintothe solid- dependson yourpurismfactor.Me?| test
originalinspiration
polarityinversion
whenevera controlunit
statemarketwasfar morepoignant:in the
allowsme to, andat leasta thirdof the
early1970s,therewasa distinctfeeling
of tubesmightsimplydry up.
that supplies
we knowthat valves
With hindsight,
but backin 1974,when
did survive,
, l lJ o h n s o n
p l a nning
hisc om pan y fu
' s tu re Bi
modelsto the
decidedto addsolid-state
wit hth e D -1 0 01 0 0 W /c h
ra n ge,beginning
in August
stereopoweramp,introduced
'I976,followedby the 350$ch D-350in
October1977,andthe 50wch D-52in
werebriskuntilthe first
August1978.Sales
the audiomagazines
appeared,
reviews
puriststance.
takinga 'horrified'
hacksof
Simplyput,the hidebound
the dayattackedthe unitsasmuchon
ARC's
principleason actualperformance.
themto
described
founderBillJohnson
journalist
in an interviewin
RobertHarley,
Stereophilein 1994,asfeeling'betrayed
Audio
by our sojourninto solid-state'.
threwin the towel,
eventually
Research
RISIIT:Notquiteasrepellentasthe'green
panel
onthe Ref5,the DSi200's
monstrosity'
seemsslightlyeasieron the eyes.Notethe
polarityinversionandmonofront panelbuttons
24 ! www.hifinews.co.uk! MARCH2010
its use.Andmono?
time,the discrequires
Thatdependson whetheror not you listen
andwhether
to a lot of monorecordings,
or not youtrustthe sourceandthe
to be 'true'mono.
playback
mechanism
and
Thisproduct'ssimPlicitY
extendsto everypart of
user-friendliness
set-up.Compactbut chunky,it'sstilla onepersonjob.Andthe clarityat the backis
halveswith
mirror-image
self-explanatory:
inputs,three
two pairsof XLRbalanced
RCAlinelevelinputs
pairsof single-ended
bindingpostsfor
andsuperb,no-nonsense
Alsofittedisthe normalIEC
the speakers.
mainsinputanda fuseholder.
too, isthe remote
Self-explanatory,
allfunctionson the front
whichoperates
panel,aswell asbalancecontroland
the welcomeddisplaydimmer.I cannot
reiterateenoughhow horribleARC's
are,despitethe injectionof ltalian
displays
You'dhave
bloodintothe management.
execs
thoughtthat a few Corneliani-clad
wouldhavelookedat it in horrorand
orderedan OLEDofferingfrom Sony'Hell'
at f 5106,there'sno needto scrimpon a
screenthat'sonlyan inchor so longerthan
my 4 5 x 11O m mNok ia65 0 0 1
Duringmytime with the D5i200,I only
when
onequirk,discovered
experienced
switchinginputs:the remote'ssource
selectbuttonsalsochangetrackson the
Thisis merely
CDplayer.
MusicalFidelity
Butowners
coincidence.
an unfortunate
of kW DM25smayneeda re-thinkif the
to them.
DSi200appeals
A
We'restillat a pointwhereClass
asthe pinnacle
operationis regarded
of amplifieroperationandClassD is
a modernfreak.But,with increasing
areblowing
ClassD designs
regularity,
conditioning
and
suchdiscrimination,
prejudice
out of the window.Thereisone
being
facetof the DSi200's
overpowering
that will - asthisarticle'ssub-heading
- rattlenot justthe
come-onsuggests
A fans,it will shakereiigious
cagesof Class
fervourfor valves.No,not enough,
perhaps,
Butit made
to createapostates.
snob.
me lessof an anti-transistor
Thatfirst burstis alwaysthe most
telling,providedyou'dlet the systemwarm
I do that as
up beforethe initialsession.
a matterof habit,switchingon andthen
leavingthe roomfor a cup of Newby's
later
EarlGrey.AndI'm gladI did,because
showedthat the DSi200warms
sessions
up to optimalsonicmeritaftera half-hour.
At least,that'show it soundedto my ears,
in a
coldDecember,
duringa freakishly
roomwith a thermometermonitoringmy
to the ARC.So,as longasyour
exposure
dealerhasit switchedon beforeyouget to
that whatyou'll
the shop,you canassume
heariswhatyou'regonnaget.
t&|'NEVERFALIERS
How to characterisethe sound?lt's
impossibleto talk about the actual power,
becauseratingsno longer mean anything,
when there are 60W amplifiersthat seem
more
subjectively
robustthanampsrated
at doublethat. But
whateverthe numbers,
the DSi200disoatched
the WilsonSoohias
with ease,worked
mi ra c u l o usl
wyel l
with the MartinLogan
SummitX, andeven
A3O\IE: Nearlyfaultless,the front panel offers
idealergonomicsand a modem lookwhile
remaininginimitablya recipientof 40 years'
worth of ARC'ssignature aesthetics
effect its sonic nature. After trying three
wildly differingspeakers,however,it
was possibleto make observationsthat
transcendcomDonent-to-component
synergy.Not leastis that this amp will while castingdoubts on your allegiance
to valves- convincemany that there's
no need to court a separatepreamp and
power amp.
T h i sa mp
is fast,widely
dynamic,punchy
and macho when
needed.On the
Move's remastered
'CaliforniaMan',the
roiling,churning
guitarsmanifested
themselvesas powerfullyas HM axework
some 40 yearsyounger,augmented bY
demented sax playingfrom one RoyWood.
Underthe mix, the piano kept its shape,
the soundstagespreadacrossthe room.
Involving?lt begged one seriousquestion:
why didn't the Britishappreciatethis most
stellar,polished,inventiveand - indeedrocking of bands?
a bass-heavy
On to 'Brontosaurus',
exercisethat soundedlike it was recorded
at 45rpm and playedback at 33.3rpm. lf
ever a tune lived up to its lurassicname,
the Move'strack had it covered,and the
DSi200reacheddown deep to create a
ponderous,but rock-solidfoundation.And
yet it kept the fluidity and grunginessthat
on occasioncan be heard as soundingtoo
tight. So detailedwas the reproduction
that I delighted in playingit againstthe
vinyl original,the DSi200showingthat the
CD'sengineersnarrowedthe gap here.
Inevitably,that led to the Beatles
remasters,which I am now savouring off o
'Thisamp is fast,
widely dynamic,
punchyand macho
whenneeded'
managedto squeezethe tush of the
LS3/5A.At no point, from listeningto the
overly gentle new Carly Simon title, Never
Black
Been Gone,to live-and-raucous
Crowesto RickDerringerot ZZIIP at air
guitar-inspiringlevels,did the amp falter.
So set asideentirelythe power debate
with this baby,though it has been pointed
out that the speaker'simpedancecan
Representingthe polar opposite of inefficientvalveamplifiertoPologies,ARCis
headliningthe 'green' credentialsof its DSi2OO
- the first Audio Researchamp to
earn itself an EnergyStar rating. Not just solid-statebut green-bloodedanalogue
ClassD amplificationis the name of the game here,even if ARChascoupledthis
to a conventional'purist' linear power supplyinsteadof going the whole hog
and employinga lightweight switchmodesupply.This is not ARC'sfirst foray into
ClassD (or PWMamplificationf,its earlier 15OMpower amp incorporatedup to
is
the DSi2OO
sevenof Tripath's'ClassT' modulesin one chassis.Nevertheless,
power devicesin the
its first home-gnownClassD design,employingMOSFET
final, high speedoutput stage and achievinga full 83%efficiencyat its rated
20OW/8ohmoutput [seeLab Report].PM
MARCH201o i www.hifinews.co.ukI 25
AUDIO RESEARCHDSi200lrsr oo1
for the DSi200is as interestingfor what
specification
ARC'S
it doesnot containasfor what it does.Sureenough,the
200W/8ohmoutput is readilyachievedat 2x230$8ohm
and a fult 2x41Ow4ohmwith 270{8ohm (<1%THD)and
ohm (1UL%rHq possibleunderdynamic
450{55O{
conditions[seecrpn t', U"to*i'power output inio lower
giii.j*:.l"'":J?jil:""#il:;}[k,
2x2O0W8ohmoutput with iust 480W drawnfrom the mains.
l,
F#:*i"#ri'Jfl
,'.,s;'ffi
iT#Ji:t:-J,-ff
a broad ultrasonii treble peak
ABOVEI Three unbalanced (RCA)and two balanced (XtRl inputs are
joined by single sets of speaker binding posts (the 4mm socketsare
sealed).Fullremote control over inputs,options and volume is included
a24-bit USBstick.lcan't remember
the last time I took my computer
into my sound room, but, hey,it's
unavoidable.Sufficeit to say,the
ARCintegratedis so clean and open
that confirminglvor Tiefenbrun's
oromisethat the 24-bit edition
handilybestedthe CDswas a nobrainer.The DSi200is exceptionally
grain-free,transparentand superquick,a perfect showcasefor those
who liketo highlight RingoStarr's
prowessbehindthe drum kit.
RATING RINGO
Whether fed the boozy,drawling,
almost bizarrepercussionon 'Rain',
with its massivecymbal crashes,the
crispslapson 'Eight DaysA Week',
the gentle tambourine buried deep
in the mix of 'We Can Work lt Out'
behindthe harmonium,or - most
majestically- the whole of Abbey
Road.the DSi200doesn't need
to flatter his handiwork. As more
than one musicianattestedduring
a recent BBCretrospective,ample
evidencepositsthat RingoStarr
is the greatestdrummer in rock
history.With the new remastersand
a high-resolutionsystemthrough
which to hear them, you'll need no
more convincing.
Then you've got that sleek
McCartneyvocal,the liquid guitar
leadsof GeorgeHarrison.Sensation
after sensation- the sweeo of the
vocalsopening 'Nowhere Man',
followed by the jingle-jangleguitar
recallingthe Byrds,the punctuation
he providesfor the elegiac'ln My
Life'.And then there's the best-ever
Buddy Holly homage,a twangy take
of 'Wordsof Love'that would have
left Hollyspellbound.
It only occurredto me after
hearinga dozen or so albumsthat I
hadn't even thought to consider
26 ? www.hifinews.co.uki MARCH2010
and
three-dimensionality
soundstage.As a rule, I obsess
over those. But it also occurredto
me that the reasonwhy I didn't
think about them: becausethe
DSi200was doing such a sterling
job of recreatinga senseof space.
It was not as cavernous,as Howthe-West-Was-Wonci nematic as
its dearersiblingsin the all-valve,
cost-no-object Referenceseries;
I spent some time in front of a
friend'sRef 5/Ref600/WilsonGrand
SLAMMduring my period with the
DSi200,to providea proper sense
of proportion.But neither was it
congested,never a caseof'Honey, I
shrunkthe soundstage'.
One other thing BillJohnsonsaid
to Harley,back in '94, was 'Frankly,
whether we like it or not, the tube
is simplya better devicefor audio'.
Farbe it for me to argue with one of
my heroes,especiallywhen I agree
completelyand live by the tube. But
as with Krell's,Ayre'sor Levinson's
finest moments,only a schmuck
would say no to a glassof Solaia,
just becausehe worshipsLafite. O
lt'1 fi1ll,i.lfl
illl'fi,xllll;#:
"
"Till;'j""#ffi
"fl
.,",lJiTlii;1i:l,l:3il'"T"1'ff#"T1[?:
tougherthe load,the less'brilliant'it will sound.
Craphs].We can seethat distortionis at a minimumin the
at
increases
t
from
uppermidrange/treble
.La
_10|<11.?.rj
reachingO.3%at zOH4lW Ibluetrace'
fower f requencies,
Craph21,1%at 20Hzl1OOW[blacktrace]and a full 3.8%at
20Hzat an intermediate10W [redtrace].Thissameincrease
in distortionat 5-50Woutput is alsoclearlyillustratedby the
dynamicoutput plots[craph 1].The effect?The D5i20Owill
doubtlesssound'different'dependingon speakersensitivity
and loadimpedance,the volumeplayedand spectralcontent
ofthe musi calgenre! P M
t%l
t
H
a
F
6
e
q/nmic
Ptrs
Pffis
OutPU{ >>
Outptlt
l-{l ro.o
a
,r"O*rOll
My mathscannotconjureup
the numberof pre/power
availableunder
combinations
f 5k. Neitherwould I discountthe
psychologicalneedsomehave
for separatesover integrateds,
nor would I deny my own lust
for tubes.Brushawaysuch
though,and regard
distractions,
the DSi2Ooon its own terms,for
what exactlyit is, and you will be
staggeredby the satisfactionit
candeliveron all levels,
M
ABOVE:Dynamicpower output versusdistortion into
Sohm (blacktrace),4ohm (red)and 2ohm (blue)
E
ABOVE:Distortion versusextendedfrequencyfrom
5Hzto 40kHz(bluetrace = 1W/8ohm;red trace =
10W/8ohm;blacktrace = 100W/8ohm)
Power output (<1%THD.8/40hm)
Dynamic power (<1%THD,8/4ohm)
270W / ssow {<2%THD}
65mV / 94ZmV{tialancedin}
A-wtd s/N ratio {re.OdBW/200w)
Distortion (20H2-2okHz,1w/ i 0W)
Sound0uatity:
86%
ffi.$#ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi'*
o.o25-0.33% [ 0.32-3.7%