Replacing SP11 mK2


I have a Audio Research SP11 Mk2 that is showing its age.
I need some ideas on a replacement that is alot better.
I want to stick with ARC. I cannot aford the Ref.
In my 11 I have Mit caps in line stage and Infinicaps in phono stage, i only point this out for reference.It is much better than a stock 11
Any advice would be welcome
Jim
jimh
I had an SP-11 as well. I listened to the newer ARC offerings, and ended up with a BAT VK50SE. IMHO, considerably better than the new ARC stuff, and affordable if you purchase used.

Good luck in your search

Paul
When I replaced my SP-11 MkII about 10 years ago, I was considering an LS-2/Vendetta combination, which I recall had significantly better ultimate resolution than the SP-11. One listen to a Jadis JPL after hearing the LS-2, though, hooked me on the richer sound of Jadis. Assuming you want to stay with ARC, my favorite after the SP-11 was the LS-5, which is a bit tubier sounding than the SP-11 but still pretty neutral. If you want a phono stage with that, you can use a PH-3, I guess, maybe the special edition (unfortunately, the only full-feature pre from ARC after the SP-11 was the SP-15, which had even less tubes and, IMO, didn't sound as good). The BAT suggestion is a good one as well, if you like the ARC sound, as it is very high-resolution but with good tube dimensionality. Finally, if you stray from ARC, want to stay single-ended instead of balanced and don't want to go as far to the tube side of neutral as Jadis, you might want to give a listen to the Herron gear, which I have found to be among the best I've heard at balancing neutrality with the strengths of tubes in dimensionality and naturalness of timbres. Good luck!
I had the ARC SP9 and enjoyed it immensely for 10 years. But ultimately I had to face the same dilemma that you are facing right now. I listened to lots of different preamps before i finally settled on CAT Ultimate Preamp. It's an absolute masterpiece of work. Trust me, I listened to a lot of preamps. Good luck
I had a audio research sp 11 also for years,went to Thor Audio T1000 linestage. A whole new world of music! You will hear music you din't know you had.
Having also had the Sp 11/2, like Rcprince I gave it up for the Jadis, on which I'm now st(r)uck. You will rarely find them used, to my ears Rcprince's proposals are excellent, but if you can find a CAT Ult. used, I'd also give it a try.
I second (third) the CAT Ultimate which should be cheaper than the Jadis -- but difficult to find used. Between the two, I think the Jadis has the edge but pls note that while I've lived with a CAT I've only auditioned the Jadis pre.