Audio Research LS25 Mk II vs Ref 1

Owned em all...ref1 was whitish...LS25 was wonderfull...MKII is still good, but 6922's in the pre stage is more musical.

I own a LS25MKII and I've started thinking upgrading it to one of the REF models. However, I haven't had the chance to listen to any of the REFs, would you think either REF will be better than the 25mk2 or should I concentrate on the REF2MKII and forget about the older models? The AR is working toghether with a Krell FPB300c into M Logans Prodigy.
I agree about the crisp sound of the 25mkII, wouldn't want to loose dinamics, but certainly would like some more bass extension, more 'punch', so, wich way to go?
brgds, marcelo

Based on previous ownership of both models. I think you should upgrade to the LS-25 MK1 if you want to stay with ARC.

I owned both the LS 25 mk2 and a Ref 2 mk1 at the same time. The LS 25 is more dynamic than the Ref, however it suffers from the bloom that makes tube equipment so special. I did do some cable swapping on the Ref 2 and it made the dynamics and resolution improve quite a bit, but it is still not as dynamic as the LS 25 mk2. The Ref 2 mk1 does have more body and bass slam than the 25. I think the next step for you would be a Ref 2 mk2 as I spoke with Leonard at ARC a couple of weeks ago and he said the Ref 2 mk2 is even more dynamic than the LS 25 mk2. I ended up keeping the Ref 2 mk1 as I prefer the whole sonic presentation over the LS 25 mk2, especially with my Maggies.

The LS 25 MK2 is very dynamic and with lots of detail. I think it is a great pre !
The Ref1 have more bass extension and less dynamic or punch.

Ruggero