I got a good deal on a used Audio Refinement Integrated and am very happy with the improvement. Firstly I was shocked with how much smoother my system sounds with the AR, though I honestly can't say I really noticed it that much before, my onkyo sounds very "grainy" in comparison. The highs are also much more enjoyable, while things like acoustic guitar don't have quite the same bite, for lack of a better word, the system as a whole is much less fatigueing to listen to, and the bass seems tighter and more controlled. In reviews it is often said the AR tends towards a more tubey sound as far as solid state electronics goes, and I can't comment having never listened to tubes (though now I'm pretty curious) but I'm very happy with the sound of the amp and am honestly very surprised with the impact that the new amplifier has made to my system.
Wayne
