Volume level of ARC Ref 5 seems very high

I do agree that the gain on the Ref5/5SE is very high. And yes it is a challenge pairing with high gain amps and speakers that are efficient

I tested my Plinius SA-Reference with my Thiel CS3.7s in my room and while the Plinius was able to drive the speakers well, I thought the ARC wasn't in its optimal range (about 30+ on the display with the 5SE and 40+ with the 5).

So I swapped back to my Electrocompaniet Nemos to allow the ARC to work in its more optimal range.

hello Amuseb, just contact ARC and ask if it is also possible in the REF 5 what you can do in the REF 3 to increase the output with 6db.I wonder if by changing the
resistors to a higher value the output will decrease.In the REF3 we are talking about the R9 and R10.

all, thanks for your comments.
I did speak to ARC about it in the past and indeed they suggested the option of lowering the gain on the CD input but also said doing so could cause sonic loss of focus...
I don't have the time or patience to start de-soldering and soldering resistors in the unit with the risk of it downgrading the sound quality.
what ARC didn't say was if listening at the lower volume setups have an effect on the performance of the preamp.
this is what I'm trying to figure out...
thanks for your additional thoughts.

Hifigeek 1 ,question about the gain for both the REF 3 and 5 , as you have the schematics you know the gain can be increased in the REF 3 by soldering a 499 ohm resistor parallel to R9 and R10.Could the original resistor be changed by a higher value to decrease the gain ?And is the schematic in the REF 5 the same at this point ?It would always be a better solution than lowering the the gain only at the CD input .Increasing the gain for all inputs is an official technical note from ARC ( the mod should be done at an authorised ARC dealer )

This is not something I normally do so you would have to contact the factory. Changing the overall gain of the line stage could change the sonic character as well. The other issue involves changing the overall gain for those who play vinyl and have separate phone stages. Since you would have less gain in the high level stage that could cause a gain issue depending of course on the cartridge you use, speaker sensitivity etc. There is no easy solution. To cause the least amount of sonic damage, changing the gain on the CD input may be a better option.