Tubes Asylum

Posted by mspc (A) on August 01, 2002 at 08:48:57

In Reply to: AR LS8 vs Counterpoint 3.1 (searched, no luck) posted by Tromatic on July 27, 2002 at 18:02:56:

Having had owned (3 ARC preamps, one Counterpoint) and sold both as a dealer, in the field they are comparable reliability wise. ARC is one hell of a lot more expensive to repair. Both sound good, but I couldn't compare the sound of the SA-3.1 to the LS8, it is a newer product.

Elliott can update the SA-3.1 to a point that I would expect the LS-8 would be no competition, but it isn't free. Look into the SA-5 (with the tube power supply), or SA-3000 as well. Both are better than the SA-3.1. They seem to sell in the sub $500 range. Personally I think ARC preamps reached their sonic zenith when they built the SP-6A. I was not as big a fan of their early 6dj8's circuits, especially the sp-6c and all of its variants. They needed some time to learn how to make a circuit that complimented the 6dj8.