Audio Research pro's-what pre-amp to choose?

interesting question! i have a mesa baron and fairly neutral speakers. i find the top end of the baron can be a problem with a lot of preamps. i have been usng an arc sp10 with good results. i use 6h23eb's in the line stage of the sp10 and yugo el12ax7's in the baron. this gets me a nice silky top end - very detailed but not etched.

that's easy

ARC LS 5 - all balanced but you can use cheater plugs from ARC or Radio Shack.

I had an LS2 and the ARC LS 5 beats all the other arc preamps except the ref 2

tom

I've owned the SP-6B and the SP-14. The 14 is an
outstanding preamp with a particularly delicious
phono section. It is also very versatile with a
myriad of switching options. It can be had for
$900-1200 in excellent condition.

A friend owns an SP-11 MK II which he believes is
the finest preamp they ever made, though it often
sells for >$2000.