ARC LS1, LS2, LS3 , or LS7, which to buy?

Guido and John, thanks so much, the guidance is greatly appreciated. It does not really surprise me that there are divergences of opinion in these matters, system context and sonic preferences being the greatest contributors to our audio likes and dislikes. That's why I only asked about sonic characteristics rather than actual preferences.

I am still a bit on the fence, though my preference would be for a drier more solid-state sound. My guess is that ANY of the preamps will give me that within my context, which is coming from the conrad-johnson side of the fence.

John, would you steer me to a SP9, certainly within my budget, and has the added bonus of a phono stage,? I do start to get worried when gear is past a certain age, which is why I did not mention this one.

Guido, two questions, if I may, would you recommend the Mondial amps? And what did you replace the LS2 with.

Thanks to you both and regards,
Marty Kohn
Portland, OR

Marty - If you're considering a unit with a phono stage, that changes many things. I understand your concern over the older units, but the LS2/LS3/LS7 are all 10+ years old so these do not guarantee much over the units from the 80s.

It comes down to the kind of sound you seek. If you like the rich and full tube sound that ARC was so famous for back in the 80s, the SP-8 or SP-6 would be my choice. But these will only handle MM cartridges. The SP-9 I believe handles higher output (1mv+) MC's which alone could be a deciding factor. And the SP-9 moves away from the olden days tube sound. The SP-9 is more tonally coherent whereas the SP-8 favors the middle 6-7 octaves.

Of all these models, I would jump on an SP-8. But like the SP-10, this has become somewhat of a collector's item; they are not seen often. And when they are available, they are in the $800-1000 range. This would be another unit where changing a handful of passive components could take this to another level of performance. After what I have heard dynamicap updates do to newer models, these could help to resolve the SP-8's frequency extreme weaknesses and not affect its awesome portrayal of space. None of the other ARC units here compete with the SP-8 in this regard.

If you are considering units with a phono stage, I would also look into the CJ PV5 and PV7 as well as the solid state CJ Motif MC8 and more expensive MC7 models. Interesting that one of each of these is for sale now. Quite amazing how the MC7 has maintained its value....but it was a very highly regarded piece.

One other unit that gets a lot of praise is the Audible Illusions Modulus 3 but I found this not to be competitive to the others here in terms of dimensionality. And it did poorly at the frequency extremes so I never knew the attraction here. It always comes down to what reference point we have and for me it was the SP-10 for 8 years and the LS5 for another 7 years.

It is quite amazing the value of some of these older models. Some may be 10-20 years old, but with a small investment in a handful of updated parts, they can be transformed. I have become a huge fan of modifying gear rather than constantly chasing the new piece.

One thing you can consider is to try and get a good deal on one or maybe two models here. Do a shootout and keep the one that locks in for you and sell the other for what you paid for it. It can be a pain, but this is a strategy that has worked for me many times.

John

John, the last ARC preamp I owned was a Julius Futterman upgraded SP3 (now you know how old I am) and I hated it. So soupy sounding. I loved my CJPV2AR, CJ PV5 and my CJ PV12, but really I wanted to move to a more solid-state kind of sound, with a better handling of the leading edges of the waveform. More than anything, that was the failing of the above mentioned units.

I suppose that my listening bias puts a lot of value on dynamics, pace and presence but not very much on soundstaging. I prefer a lean bass to the conceit of the units above, though that is really not a deal breaker for me. I have a nice phono stage, but having an intergrated phono stage would be great as well. Perhaps the SP9 is the middle ground that I seek, or perhaps a leaner sounding preamp might not be bad either.

Thanks,
Marty

I had a LS2B and my LS5B MKIII was much better in every way. Now it has been modded by GNSC and is even better.

Suggestion: I may be crazy, but am a convert to Walker Extreme SST on the tube pins, XLRS and PCs.

Bob Wood
http://www.greathometheater.com

Marty, John is absolutely correct about the balanced design of the LS2B being half baked. The device has XLR and RCA outputs, but only RCA inputs. The XLR outputs are using some kind of technical alamagoosa to fake the balanced signal. . . . and regardless whether its sound were 'pleasing' or not, it does lack the phonostage you are seeking.
I have replaced my LS2B January last with an ARC Ref 3.
I have had only experience with the 4004 Mk. 2 in the Mondial lineup. While it is a competent unit, better than the Bedini, Hafler and PS Audio I had the opportunity of auditioning at that time, it is fuzzy and unmusical, when you compare it to top ranking brands of the same period. If you were looking for a solid state amp of the mid to late 80s vintage, I would suggest 1st or 2nd generation Rowland monoblocks. price point will not be staggeringly higher than Aragon 4004, but you would find yourself musically in a different world all together.