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AR LS7 v SP14

Hi, I wonder if any of you can help me? At a demo of equipment I heard a system that comprised the Audio Reserch SP14 paired with a Muscial Fidelity P270 MK2 and was blown away by the scale and living performance they gave. I have since been trying to buy these components second hand and have acquired an Audio Reserch LS7 with a Musical Fidelity P270 mark 2, although I love the sound it doesn't give me the scale and live sounding, living breathing performnace I heard. Can anyone with experience of the SP14 confirm that this is what the SP14 does compared with the LS7? You can gey the SP14's at a great price on the second hand market.
martynairey1546
newbee
4,767 posts
 
My experience with the SP14 has shown it to be a very detailed, clinical and bright sounding pre-amp. I've no experience with the P270. The LS7 is a nice budget tube amp, not overly warm or bright. Tube changes can make a difference in its tone. However.....

I wonder if you are travelling down the right road. You want to replicate the sound you heard in the demo room, however unless your room, system, and set up are identical you never will. You need to tackle your room on its own merits. The most critical issue is speaker set. Have you explored proper set up issues thoroughly yet? If not, do so before you spend another dime!
jvogt
212 posts
 
I respectfully disagree with the Newbee's summary on the
SP-14. I owned one and found it to be neutral, spacious,
and airy with excellent bass. I previously owned an
Audio Research SP-6B which was highly regarded in it's
day. I found the SP-14 noteably better in several respects.
The SP-6B had a much higher noise floor, loose tubby bass
and a limited high end extension. I've owned an number of
preamps over 30+ years and I consider the SP-14 one of the
better units. It also has a wonderful phono stage. I can't
comment on the LS-7 as I've never heard one.
wc65mustang
524 posts
 
I can't speak to the SP14 but I owned the LS-7 for less than a year. It is one of AR's weakest efforts although none of their linestages (and power amps for that matter) are particularly noteworthy. Given other choices such as Joule, VAC, and even Sonic Frontiers, AR stuff wouldn't be my choice again.
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