Audio Research DSi200 Integrated Amp review from Soundstage.com

[Portugal]

Originally Posted by Portugal

Any opinion on this versus the (cheaper) Ayre Ax-7e?

Thanks.

Today I auditioned the AR and the Ayre, both at my house, driving Vivid V1.5 speakers. Liked the AR but liked the Ayre much more. The Ayre sounded more rich and engaging, delivering more information. The AR a bit dry in comparison (although still good).

[bigblue]

for the warm welcome every one!

[Antonmb]

Thanks for the welcome, what a great forum.

[bigblue]

I went through a bunch of integrated amps before I made my decision. Everything from 2000 USD and up was on my "suspect list".
My Usher speakers are pretty heavy to drive with 87 dB in 8 Ohm, so I knew that they required some power. But as I have learned –*one can not compare Watt and Watt.
I tried Moon i1 (2000 USD in Sweden), but stopped almost before we got going. Too little power. Went on to the Hegel H200 (3 500 USD) as it is considered an amp with a lot of punch. True that. But in my set up it was to unrefined. It felt like you pushed some "loudness button". One shop recommended the Audio Analogue Verdi Cento (3 000 USD). Nice midrange but the the soundstage shrunk.
On to Bladelius Tyr Mk 2 (2 500 USD) a Swedish brand who have changed its sonic character when moving from mk 1 to mk 2. Less "glittering" and sharp high notes and more even dynamics. A big improvement. The soundstage was wide but for some reason I felt no hight. I was lake listening through a letterbox. Since I liked the timing and rhythm of Moon i decided to try the i340. It sure got my feet stomping. It really pulls you in to the music. But in my set up the soundstage was far behind my speakers which felt odd.
Musical Fidelitys M6 series interested me and I started out with the M6i (2 500 USD). It played well forward of my speakers but I found the sound a bit on the hard side, not for those looking for a hint of romance. Next up was the big brother M6 500i (6 700 USD). Wow, that is power. Playing even further out from my speakers. Very much "on" the listener. IMO it delivered powerful bas and detailed highs, but somewhat thin on voices. For the heck of it I threw in a used Krell 400xi, priced on the used market at 2 000 USD. For the money it sure is good value, but lacking a bit of finesse. High marks on attack and slam though.
But it was not until I hooked up the ARC DSi200 that I felt "love". The organic sound, evenly spread from highs to bass with excellent voices gave me the shivers. The sondstage grew by 200 % compared to all other amps I hade auditioned. The "problem" with the amp was the price. In Sweden it 10 000 USD... Well over my intiial budget. But since it would be impossible to move back to anything I hade heard the last weeks, I bought it. After having had it running for close to 400 hours (of the minimum of 600 hours break in recommended by ARC) it sure has improved. The voices are less harsh and soundstage even bigger. The journey made me finacially poorer but my heart and mind a lot richer

[cmalak]

Originally Posted by bigblue

I went through a bunch of integrated amps before I made my decision. Everything from 2000 USD and up was on my "suspect list".
My Usher speakers are pretty heavy to drive with 87 dB in 8 Ohm, so I knew that they required some power. But as I have learned –*one can not compare Watt and Watt.
I tried Moon i1 (2000 USD in Sweden), but stopped almost before we got going. Too little power. Went on to the Hegel H200 (3 500 USD) as it is considered an amp with a lot of punch. True that. But in my set up it was to unrefined. It felt like you pushed some "loudness button". One shop recommended the Audio Analogue Verdi Cento (3 000 USD). Nice midrange but the the soundstage shrunk.
On to Bladelius Tyr Mk 2 (2 500 USD) a Swedish brand who have changed its sonic character when moving from mk 1 to mk 2. Less "glittering" and sharp high notes and more even dynamics. A big improvement. The soundstage was wide but for some reason I felt no hight. I was lake listening through a letterbox. Since I liked the timing and rhythm of Moon i decided to try the i340. It sure got my feet stomping. It really pulls you in to the music. But in my set up the soundstage was far behind my speakers which felt odd.
Musical Fidelitys M6 series interested me and I started out with the M6i (2 500 USD). It played well forward of my speakers but I found the sound a bit on the hard side, not for those looking for a hint of romance. Next up was the big brother M6 500i (6 700 USD). Wow, that is power. Playing even further out from my speakers. Very much "on" the listener. IMO it delivered powerful bas and detailed highs, but somewhat thin on voices. For the heck of it I threw in a used Krell 400xi, priced on the used market at 2 000 USD. For the money it sure is good value, but lacking a bit of finesse. High marks on attack and slam though.
But it was not until I hooked up the ARC DSi200 that I felt "love". The organic sound, evenly spread from highs to bass with excellent voices gave me the shivers. The sondstage grew by 200 % compared to all other amps I hade auditioned. The "problem" with the amp was the price. In Sweden it 10 000 USD... Well over my intiial budget. But since it would be impossible to move back to anything I hade heard the last weeks, I bought it. After having had it running for close to 400 hours (of the minimum of 600 hours break in recommended by ARC) it sure has improved. The voices are less harsh and soundstage even bigger. The journey made me finacially poorer but my heart and mind a lot richer

Welcome to AA bigblue Congrats on the DSi200. You did it the right way having listened to a great number of options in your system and choosing the integrated that best matched the rest of your system and your listening preferences Congrats and enjoy the DSi200 It is a great amp.

[mgard]

bigblue,

That was an enjoyable read. The dealer where I bought my Magnepans from sells Audio Research. He was using the DSI200 to run his Maggie 1.7's. That combination sounded very nice.

~Mike

[bigblue]

Thanks. The first time I heard the DSi200 was at a hifi show were they powerd a pair of Sophia 3. Great combo. IMO there are two things that are against the DSi200.
1) Class D is somewhat new. No one really knows what it stands for (is it any good?)
2) Its an integrated. One may not like it but it should be for the "right" reasons (i.e. it does not suit my sonic pref or my budget) and not because it is "only" one unit and not separates.

[Ritmo]

Welcome bigblue! Glad you are happy with the DSi200. It is a nice piece.

Mike

[ckimmelshue]

I have had the pleasure of owning the DSi200 since last September and I've managed to log 200+ hours on it so far. It is definitely best (for my music taste) integrated I have heard in its price range. I auditioned the integrateds from McIntosh, Krell, Plinius, and Boulder before deciding on the ARC.

My speakers, Totem Mani-2 Signatures, are very demanding (85 dB/W/m, 4 ohm) and require a lot more power than they are rated to handle. The McIntosh 6600 hit the power protection circuitry several times when I had it home with me. The DSi200 really reigns in these speakers in and controls them with finesse. The soundstage is open and airy. The bottom end is taught and quick. I don't get the overall sense that I'm listening to solid state with the DSi200. There is a certain warmth that all ARC gear has, and this integrated is no exception.

I recently added a CD8 to the system and it is hooked up via the balanced outs to the DSi200. This setup is truly audio nirvana for me. The DSi200/CD8 combo really brings out all the fine detail without sounding too sterile and clinical.

I'm a lifelong ARC customer now

[Luca74]

Hi all,

I'm new here and found your entries on ARC DSi-200 very useful. I'm considering buying it these days, will be auditioning it next week maybe. I'd be mating it with Harbeth LS5/12a. I have one question, though: by reading all the reviews on DSi-200 I've found out that its volume control is particular: it does not rotate and works by steps. I read that "the resolution of steps here could be better. In the quiet range they’re too large but get finer and finer as one goes louder." This is a thing that might bother me, especially the fact that in the quiet range the steps are too large. I wonder why didn't they build a normal rotating volume control knob? Did this thing bother you? I've always disliked this kind of volume control, and I'd be sorry if I had to renounce buying it just for this reason. What do you think about it? Thank you!

Luca