ARC LS26 vs Ref 2 Mk 2

Oneobgyn,

who are you kidding when you say your journey is over. I certainly hope you don't believe it !

My dad is waiting on his Ref 3 to be delivered, when talking to a friend he assumed my dad had the 26, but he owns the 16 now.
What was interesting is he claimed there are a few opinions that the 26 and Ref2 are pretty similar, he used the phrase "kissing cousins" at any rate that is one take I heard on the two.
I cant wait to visit my father to hear the leap that pre will provide in his system performace, it should be fun!

hi Mick,just bought a ref. 2 mk2....just installed Russian NOS tubes,and it is warming up as i speak...it's balanced to a Bryston 14bsst,Raysonic CD128,and PMC IB1's,
the eagles are on a Anthem D1 for a comparison.
i will let u know what i think.
John

Hi Mclsound,

Thanks to you, and to everyone who replied, for your input.
I ended up buying the LS26 about six weeks ago, and it is just fantastic. Absolutely a whole new level up from my old pre, the KRC-HR, in every possible way.

Given how how much better the ARC seems to be than the Krell, I'm very tempted now to explore the possibility of replacing my Krell power amp (FPB300) with a tube power amp. An obvious contender would be the ARC Ref110, but I might go with an older used ARC like the VT150, as that would save me some hard earned cash.

Cheers
Mick

maybe the warmth of ARC and detail of Krell is a good combo to consider before you change.