RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp

Posted by geraldm121 (A) on October 5, 2011 at 05:35:18

In Reply to: Which Audio Research Pre-amp posted by ccoulter on October 4, 2011 at 18:21:33:

You may also want to consider the SP16 ( the version with a phono preamp section) it's the last of their 12AX7 based designs which opens the door for relatively inexpensive tube rolling, the phono section is excellent it has a remote and they are priced quite reasonably used ($1200> $1600) at the moment.
I currently also have an SP9MKIII and an old SP7 (SS and a real sleeper especially for the $400 they currently sell for) and am waiting for Mikey Samra on an SP6B he is working on (if your there Mikey whats the latest ??????) for me.If you go for an SP9 I would make sure it's a MKIII as there is quite a significant improvement over the original version.
Despite Elizabeth's comments the SP10 is really something special but she is correct in her comment that re-tubing it with NOS high quality 6DJ8's/6922's could easily run over a $1000. The SP8 if you can find one at any kind or reasonable price is probably my favorite along with the SP16 I mentioned above but they are almost unobtanium at less than $2000.
Output/Input impedance matching with a Mac SS power amp could be an issue with an SP8 the others mentioned should not have a problem as they are listed by ARC to drive the 20k input impedance of an MC352.
Finally don't buy a fixer-upper ARC product unless you are an experienced tech. They are difficult for a casual kit builder type to work on and if it has to go to ARC for service it will cost you more than a good one would have. Good luck!

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Which Audio Research Pre-amp - ccoulter 18:21:33 10/04/11 (19)

Why Audio Research? - Larry I 07:37:27 10/07/11 (0)

Be Careful, Many Opinions On This Subject! - Karma16 04:57:19 10/06/11 (2)

RE: Be Careful, Many Opinions On This Subject! - ccoulter 13:00:48 10/07/11 (1)

RE: Be Careful, Many Opinions On This Subject! - Karma16 14:18:46 10/07/11 (0)

RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp - oldmkvi 11:52:46 10/05/11 (0)

RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp - geraldm121 05:35:18 10/05/11 (2)

RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp - ccoulter 12:48:26 10/07/11 (1)

A non answer - Mechans 06:23:19 10/08/11 (0)

Pre-amp for MC352, make sure it's comfortable driving ... - Rick58 22:04:52 10/04/11 (1)

RE: Pre-amp for MC352, make sure it's comfortable driving ... - ccoulter 12:45:54 10/07/11 (0)

RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp - Gretschtenn 20:06:30 10/04/11 (1)

RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp - ccoulter 12:42:37 10/07/11 (0)

If you really want an Audio Research, I'd look for a SP-10 (NT) - jnr 19:49:28 10/04/11 (4)

I had an SP-10 and sold it fast as i could after hearing an ARC Sp-15 - Elizabeth 01:39:44 10/05/11 (3)

RE: I had an SP-10 and sold it fast as i could after hearing an ARC Sp-15 - ccoulter 12:47:17 10/07/11 (0)

Maybe my post wasn't clear. - jnr 12:51:23 10/05/11 (0)

RE: I had an SP-10 and sold it fast as i could after hearing an ARC Sp-15 - garymuffley@fuse.net 07:51:59 10/05/11 (0)

RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp - vader 18:26:53 10/04/11 (1)

RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp - jsm71 06:07:48 10/06/11 (0)

Follow Ups

RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp - geraldm121 05:35:18 10/05/11 (2)

RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp - ccoulter 12:48:26 10/07/11 (1)

A non answer - Mechans 06:23:19 10/08/11 (0)

RE: Which Audio Research Pre-amp

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