Need help with tube linestage-SF vs ARC vs Others

The LS 16 mk 1 (not mk 2) has lots of bloom. It is a very good sounding piece.... The mk 2's use 6h30 tubes that are faster, cleaner, and more dynamic, but do not have nearly the bloom the mk 1's using 6922 tubes..... If you are looking for bloom, stick with the 6922 tubes....

Modwright 9.0SE. Does not have balanced but does have HT bypass. Reviews will becoming out soon but if you wait until the reviews hit you will be on a waiting list. Dan has made a killer preamp.

I am VERY happy with my LS 16 MKII. It is very, very good. However, how it interacts with your system is anybody's guess until you try it. It worked wonders with mine. It elevated my Maggie 3.6R's to a level I did not know they could attain. The dynamic life that the MkII allows music to express is breathtaking. A definite step in the direction of a "you are there" type of realism. If "bloom" is defined as bringing you closer to feeling the breath of living vocalists and instruments, the MkII has it in spades. If you mean a warmer, lusher, tubier, rounder, euphonic sound, no. I've heard the Calypso and I think it would give it a good run. The Calypso is also not "tubey" sounding in the traditional sense. It is simply very neutral. I wouldn't hesitate to compare them. My previous linestages included the ARC SP-14. I can't speak for the BAT or Sonic Frontiers units.

I probably should add that the other night I spun Voodoo Chile from Electric Ladyland(CD) and was simply floored during Jimi's solos. You could tell how hard he was attacking the strings on his Strat. You could even discern that it was a natural maple neck and the it screamed through the Marshall stack with the proper growl. Just like a "live" Marshall. I heard dynamic and harmonic details that I didn't know were captured on that recording. Yes, the LS-16 MkII is pretty good.

I should have mentioned that the CAT preamp does not offer balanced outputs. Also I do not believe that it offers a HT pass-through.