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Audio Research DSi200 (f,5to6)Valve specialist ARC unveils its f irst solid-state integrated amplif ier, and like the SP-7preamp, it 's an all-tranny product that may inspire die-hards to forgo the glowReview: Ken Kessler Lab: Paul Miller

udio Research Corporation'simage as a maker of valveelectronics is so all-encompassingthat many audiophiles are

unaware that the comPanY has beenproducing solid-state gear for over 30years. Transistor products arrived inARC's catalogue long before CD, custominstallation and multichannel almost forcedtheir presence. But valves have alwaysdominated, so it 's important to understandwhy the doyen of post-modern tube ampswould even bother with transistors if oneis to approach the DSi200 - the company'sfirst-ever solid-state integrated amplif ier -wi th an open mind.

No mystery here: Audio Research hasalways preterred tubes over trannies, andthat hasn't changed. But the company iscommercially sawy and pragmatic: whyalienate the largest part of the market?Transistor amp sales are logarithmicallygreater than those of valve amPs, yet theoriginal inspiration for entry into the solid-state market was far more poignant: in theearly 1970s, there was a distinct feelingthat supplies of tubes might simply dry up.

With hindsight, we know that valvesdid survive, but back in 1974, whenplanning his company's future, Bi l l Johnsondecided to add solid-state models to therange, beginning with the D-100 100W/chstereo power amp, introduced in August'I 976, followed by the 350$ch D-350 inOctober 1977, and the 50wch D-52 inAugust 1978. Sales were brisk unti l the firstreviews appeared, the audio magazinestaking a 'horrif ied' purist stance.

Simply put, the hidebound hacks ofthe day attacked the units as much onprinciple as on actual performance. ARC'sfounder Bil l Johnson described them tojournalist Robert Harley, in an interview inStereophile in 1994, as feeling 'betrayedby our sojourn into solid-state'. AudioResearch eventually threw in the towel,

RISIIT: Not quite as repellent asthe'greenmonstrosity' on the Ref 5, the DSi200's panelseems slightly easier on the eyes. Note thepolarity inversion and mono front panel buttons

re-focusing on tubes. Thirty years on' ARCmanufactures all-valve, all-transistor andhybrid products without fear of reprisals'

AI,TYOU COUIDWANTWith the DSi20O, ARC has a near-perfectpackage that balances all that a trueaudiophile wants in an integrated' withenough flash-bang-wallop to seduce thosewho can't deal with hair'shirt minimalism.Amusingly, the DSi200 /ooks l ike anexercise in audiophil ic self-abnegation, dueto a front panel bearing only two knobsfor input and level (actually bi-directionaltwist-twist rather than conventionallyrotating) and only four press buttons.

And they don't even address 'normal'functions. ln addition to power on/off andmute, the other two buttons offer functionsfar less in demand nowadays: mono andpolarity inversion. How important these areto you, instead of a more common tapemonitor selector or perhaps a USB input'depends on your purism factor. Me? | testpolarity inversion whenever a control unitallows me to, and at least a third of the

time, the disc requires its use. And mono?That depends on whether or not you l istento a lot of mono recordings, and whetheror not you trust the source and theplayback mechanism to be 'true' mono.

This product's simPlicitY anduser-friendliness extends to every part ofset-up. Compact but chunky, it 's sti l l a one-person job. And the clarity at the back isself-explanatory: mirror-image halves withtwo pairs of XLR balanced inputs, threepairs of single-ended RCA line level inputsand superb, no-nonsense binding posts forthe speakers. Also fitted is the normal IECmains input and a fuse holder.

Self-explanatory, too, is the remotewhich operates all functions on the frontpanel, as well as balance control andthe welcomed display dimmer. I cannotreiterate enough how horrible ARC'sdisplays are, despite the injection of ltalianblood into the management. You'd havethought that a few Corneliani-clad execswould have looked at it in horror andordered an OLED offering from Sony' Hell'at f 5106, there's no need to scrimp on a

24 ! www.hifinews.co.uk ! MARCH 2010

screen that's only an inch or so longer thanmy 45x1 1Omm Nokia 65001

During my time with the D5i200, I onlyexperienced one quirk, discovered whenswitching inputs: the remote's sourceselect buttons also change tracks on theMusical Fidelity CD player. This is merelyan unfortunate coincidence. But ownersof kW DM25s may need a re-think if theDSi200 appeals to them.

We're sti l l at a point where Class Aoperation is regarded as the pinnacleof amplif ier operation and Class D isa modern freak. But, with increasingregularity, Class D designs are blowingsuch discrimination, conditioning andprejudice out of the window. There is oneoverpowering facet of the DSi200's beingthat wil l - as this article's sub-headingcome-on suggests - rattle not just thecages of Class A fans, it wil l shake reiigiousfervour for valves. No, not enough,perhaps, to create apostates. But it mademe less of an anti-transistor snob.

That first burst is always the mosttell ing, provided you'd let the system warmup before the init ial session. I do that asa matter of habit, switching on and thenleaving the room for a cup of Newby'sEarl Grey. And I'm glad I did, because latersessions showed that the DSi200 warmsup to optimal sonic merit after a half-hour.

At least, that's how it sounded to my ears,during a freakishly cold December, in aroom with a thermometer monitoring myexposure to the ARC. So, as long as yourdealer has it switched on before you get tothe shop, you can assume that what you'l lhear is what you're gonna get.

t&|'NEVERFALIERSHow to characterise the sound? l t 'simpossible to talk about the actual power,because rat ings no longer mean anything,when there are 60W ampli f iers that seemsubjectively morerobust than amps ratedat double that. Butwhatever the numbers,the DSi200 disoatchedthe Wilson Soohiaswith ease, workedmiraculously wel lwith the MartinLoganSummit X, and even

'This amp is fast,

A3O\IE: Nearly faultless, the front panel offersidealergonomics and a modem lookwhileremaining inimitably a recipient of 40 years'

worth of ARC's signature aesthetics

effect its sonic nature. After trying threewildly dif fering speakers, however, i t

was possible to make observations that

transcend comDonent-to-componentsynergy. Not least is that this amp wil l -

while casting doubts on your al legianceto valves - convince many that there'sno need to court a separate preamp and

power amp.This amp

is fast, widelydynamic, punchyand macho whenneeded. On theMove's remastered'Cali fornia Man', theroi l ing, churningguitars manifested

punchy and machowidely dynamic,

when needed'

Representing the polar opposite of inefficient valve amplifier toPologies, ARC isheadlining the 'green' credentials of its DSi2OO - the first Audio Research amp toearn itself an Energy Star rating. Not just solid-state but green-blooded analogueClass D amplification is the name of the game here, even if ARC has coupled thisto a conventional 'purist' linear power supply instead of going the whole hogand employing a lightweight switchmode supply. This is not ARC's first foray intoClass D (or PWM amplificationf, its earlier 15OM power amp incorporated up toseven of Tripath's 'Class T' modules in one chassis. Nevertheless, the DSi2OO isits first home-gnown Class D design, employing MOSFET power devices in thefinal, high speed output stage and achieving a full 83% efficiency at its rated20OW/8ohm output [see Lab Report]. PM

managed to squeeze the tush of theLS3/5A. At no point, from l istening to theoverly gentle new Carly Simon title, NeverBeen Gone, to l ive-and-raucous BlackCrowes to Rick Derringer ot ZZIIP at airguitar- inspir ing levels, did the amp falter.

So set aside entirely the power debatewith this baby, though i t has been pointed

out that the speaker's impedance can

themselves as powerful ly as HM axeworksome 40 years younger, augmented bYdemented sax playing from one Roy Wood.Under the mix, the piano kept i ts shape,the soundstage spread across the room.Involving? l t begged one serious question:

why didn't the Brit ish appreciate this moststel lar, pol ished, inventive and - indeed -rocking of bands?

On to 'Brontosaurus', a bass-heavyexercise that sounded l ike i t was recordedat 45rpm and played back at 33.3rpm. l fever a tune l ived up to i ts lurassic name,the Move's track had i t covered, and theDSi200 reached down deep to create aponderous, but rock-sol id foundation. Andyet i t kept the f luidity and grunginess thaton occasion can be heard as sounding tootight. So detai led was the reproductionthat I del ighted in playing i t against thevinyl original, the DSi200 showing that theCD's engineers narrowed the gap here.

Inevitably, that led to the Beatlesremasters, which I am now savouring off o

MARCH 201o i www.hifinews.co.uk I 25

AUDIO RESEARCH DSi200 lrsr oo1

ABOVEI Three unbalanced (RCA) and two balanced (XtRl inputs arejoined by single sets of speaker binding posts (the 4mm sockets aresealed). Full remote control over inputs, options and volume is included

conditions [see crpn t', U"to*i'power output inio lower

giii.j*:.l"'":J?jil:""#il:;}[k,:tiluiru.2x2O0W8ohm output with iust 480W drawn from the mains.

F#:*i"#ri'Jfl ,'.,s;'ffi iT#Ji:t:-J,-ff l,a broad ultrasonii treble peak

il ll'fi,xllll;#: "T ill;'j""#ffi lt'1 "fl fi1ll,i.lfl "

tougher the load, the less 'brilliant' it will sound.

.,",lJiTlii;1i:l,l:3il'"T"1'ff#"T1[?:ll':il":1Craphs]. We can see that distortion is at a minimum in theupper midrange/treble from .La

t _10|<11.?.rj

increases atf ower f requencies, reaching O.3% at zOH4lW Iblue trace'Craph 21, 1 % at 20Hzl1 OOW [black trace] and a full 3.8% at20Hz at an intermediate 1 0W [red trace]. This same increasein distortion at 5-50W output is also clearly illustrated by thedynamic output plots [craph 1]. The effect? The D5i20O willdoubtless sound 'different' depending on speaker sensitivityand load impedance, the volume played and spectral contentof the musical genre! PM

ARC'S specification for the DSi200 is as interesting for whatit does not contain as for what it does. Sure enough, the200W/8ohm output is readily achieved at 2x230$8ohmand a fult 2x41Ow4ohm with 270{8ohm (<1%THD) and450{55O{ ohm (1UL%rHq possible under dynamic

q/nmic Ptrs OutPU{ >> M

ABOVE: Dynamic power output versus distortion intoSohm (black trace), 4ohm (red) and 2ohm (blue)

a24-bit USB st ick. lcan't rememberthe last t ime I took my computerinto my sound room, but, hey, i t 'sunavoidable. Suff ice i t to say, theARC integrated is so clean and openthat confirming lvor Tiefenbrun'soromise that the 24-bit edit ionhandily bested the CDs was a no-brainer. The DSi200 is exceptional lygrain-free, transparent and super-quick, a perfect showcase for thosewho l ike to highl ight Ringo Starr 'sprowess behind the drum kit .

RATING RINGOWhether fed the boozy, drawling,almost bizarre percussion on 'Rain',

with i ts massive cymbal crashes, thecrisp slaps on 'Eight Days A Week',the gentle tambourine buried deepin the mix of 'We Can Work l t Out'behind the harmonium, or - mostmajestical ly - the whole of AbbeyRoad. the DSi200 doesn't needto flatter his handiwork. As morethan one musician attested duringa recent BBC retrospective, ampleevidence posits that Ringo Starris the greatest drummer in rockhistory. With the new remasters anda high-resolut ion system throughwhich to hear them, you' l l need nomore convincing.

Then you've got that sleekMcCartney vocal, the l iquid guitarleads of George Harrison. Sensationafter sensation - the sweeo of thevocals opening 'Nowhere Man',fol lowed by the j ingle-jangle guitarrecal l ing the Byrds, the punctuationhe provides for the elegiac ' ln MyLife'. And then there's the best-everBuddy Holly homage, a twangy takeof 'Words of Love'that would haveleft Hol ly spel lbound.

It only occurred to me afterhearing a dozen or so albums that Ihadn't even thought to consider

three-dimensional i ty andsoundstage. As a rule, I obsessover those. But i t also occurred tome that the reason why I didn'tthink about them: because theDSi200 was doing such a sterl ingjob of recreating a sense of space.It was not as cavernous, as How-the -We st-Was-Won ci nematic asits dearer sibl ings in the al l-valve,cost-no-object Reference series;I spent some t ime in front of afr iend's Ref 5/Ref 600/Wilson GrandSLAMM during my period with theDSi200, to provide a proper senseof proport ion. But neither was i tcongested, never a case of 'Honey, Ishrunk the soundstage'.

One other thing Bi l l Johnson saidto Harley, back in '94, was 'Frankly,whether we l ike i t or not, the tubeis simply a better device for audio'.Far be i t for me to argue with one ofmy heroes, especial ly when I agreecompletely and l ive by the tube. Butas with Krel l 's, Ayre's or Levinson'sf inest moments, only a schmuckwould say no to a glass of Solaia,just because he worships Lafi te. O

My maths cannot conjure upthe number of pre/powercombinations available underf 5k. Neither would I discount thepsychological need some havefor separates over integrateds,nor would I deny my own lustfor tubes. Brush away suchdistractions, though, and regardthe DSi2Oo on its own terms, forwhat exactly it is, and you will bestaggered by the satisfaction itcan deliver on all levels,

Sound0uatity: 86%

ffi.$#ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi'*

ABOVE: Distortion versus extended frequency from5Hz to 40kHz (blue trace = 1W/8ohm; red trace =

10W/8ohm; black trace = 100W/8ohm)

t%l

t

Ha

F6e

l-{l ro.o

a

E,r"O*rOll

q/nmic Pffis Outptlt >>

Power output (<1% THD. 8/40hm)

Dynamic power (<1% THD, 8/4ohm) 270W / ssow {<2% THD}

65mV / 94ZmV {tialanced in}

A-wtd s/N ratio {re. OdBW/200w)

Distortion (20H2-2okHz, 1 w/ i 0W) o.o25 -0.33% [ 0.32-3.7%

26 ? www.hifinews.co.uk i MARCH 2010