Question for ARC line stage owners

I bought a "trade in" ls-15 from my local ARC dealer. It was made late in 1996. It has the IEC cord, InfiCaps and had the black rubber tube dampers. The balanced direct input is the best sounding. I will add that 60's Amperex Holland Bugle Boys in positions V1 and V2, followed by 60's Amperex 6922 PQ's in V3 and V4, sounds pretty damn good!

I would go balanced as it is a better connection as well as quieter. I had Infinicaps installed in 1997 as an upgrade to the VT130. With the mods you suggest, you may be very happy as spending a lot of money for a certain nuance in sound doesn't make sense. For example, the Russian 6H23 is an incredible improvement over the stock 6922s for little money. With experimentation, you can taylor most ARC gear to your liking. As far as IECs, call Leonard at ARC. He can answer any questions you ask.

Hi, Catpenny -

I will second your observation on the substitution of 6H23s for 6922s - they make a substantial difference for the approx $200 cost (vendor: Upscale Audio). For my LS22r, this meant improved transparency, smoother top end and more liquid midrange. Bass seemd mre defined as well. Having said that, I still get the best results when I bypass the preamp altogether, running an Accuphase DP-75 directly into a Pass X350 via balanced lines. The improvement in tonal texture, sound stage and definition is nothing short of astonishing.

The Dynamicaps were used to replace all the MIT Multicaps ( coupling caps) in both the line and phono stage of my ARC SP9-MKIII. The stock power cord ( 18 ga) was replaced with a PS Audio mini lab 10 ga triple shielded cord. A Furutech gold plated IEC was installed and it was wired to the main circuit board with high grade oxygen free copper wire. The mode, balance control and tape switches were all bypassed with litz wire. I never used these switches/controls so it was worth bypassing these for the much improved preformance. The chassis and circuit boards were damped. The power transformer was also damped. Tubes were upgraded to NOS Seimens 6922 in both line and phono stages and new ARC tube dampeners were installed. OEM rubber feet were replaced with superior compounded rubber feet ( slightling smaller in circumferance) for better isolation. These feet also have less surface contact than the stock feet. Unit was put on pneumatic isolation device being a Seismic Sink. Air pressure was adjusted for maximum vertical isolation ( original Seismic Sink 1D circa 1997 model) Power supply capacitors ( stock SP9MKIII) were hotglued together for a much improved dampening effect. Other mods were done but these were the vast majority of the upgrades performed by a couple friends of mine who are in the audio business and have worked with and for major audiophile OEM's for many years. For the first time the recording XRCD Jazz At The Pawnshop sounds awesome. It really sounds like you are there for the first time. Before the mods it sounded very harsh. Noticed improvements in presence, soundstage depth and width, instrument focus, a full 2 octaves of lower bass. Piano notes sound like the real thing. Very close to the Steinway studio my wife plays. Noticed better low end bass detail and previous hardness on the upper end is now a thing of the past. Dynamicap .01 bypasses are highly recomended for this application and provide crystal clear and extremely quick upper end detail. Musical passages are substantially quicker as compared to the stock ARC SP9MKIII. I would highly recomend doing this mod. Why spend 8 grand when you can have something close for just $1,600.00.I bought my SP9MKIII used and the mods ran around $800.00 or so. The cost value relationship was worth it to me.