Should I upgrade my preamp?
There are no decent Audio stores close to my home anymore. I used to travel 50 miles to Paragon Sound in Toledo, Ohio. I could select a piece of equipment new (floor model) or used and bring it home to plug into my system and try it before I’d buy. So, my question the group is, I’m thinking of up grading my preamp. I have always felt the preamp was the heart and soul of a system and the greatest change would come from changing the preamp. I’ve been watching used ARC preamps on eBay. Would an ARC LS28 be to much of a stretch for my current system? In the past I’ve enjoyed swapping out the single 6922 tube in the preamp and the change was always noticeable. Currently I’m running a Dutch Amperex 7308 and my favorite so far. From top to bottom a very musical tube. What are your thoughts?
Current system:
Denon DSD 1500 CD player
Audio Research LS2B MkII
Audio Research PH3SE
Aragon 8008BB
Vpi Aries gen1 turntable
Vpi Line Conditioner
Graham 2.2 tonearm
Benz Micro Ruby ZH
Thiel 3.6 speakers
Drive a bit further into Michigan ( i’m a Buckeye…so i know how that might hurt )… Seek out Paragon or even visit Indy. Not sure what is left standing in Columbus. Your current ARC preamp is very romantic sounding vs the unit you mention… obviously you have a lovely sounding system… the cartridge in particular… first order speakers from Jim T. Fun. i advise at least an LS-17 with a vpi magic brick on the transformer. Have fun |
I would 1st want to know from your words, specifically, what sq are you missing from your system ?, and / or what sq are you trying to add to your system ?, and / or, you just got the upgrade bug ? There are many things we can do to enhance our systems. Room acoustics, speaker listener positions, cables, isolators, etc. Have you optimized any of this, or are you restricted in any way to optimize any of this ( not having a dedicated room, as an example ) ? The Denon piece, btw, is either the DCD1500, or the DVD 1500. My best, and of course as tomic says, have fun. MrD. |
+1 @mrdecibel Totally depends on what improvements and sound characteristics you’re looking for. I’ll just caution that with your amp and speakers you should be careful to not venture too far into greater neutrality/treble detail or things might get too bright. The newer ARC preamps will likely skew this way relative to what you have now, which is why it’s so important to share what specifically you’re looking for sonically. Just my $0.02 FWIW, and best of luck. |
I am not of the camp that you must understand what is missing from your current system. When you perform a significant upgrade with high quality components, you find out what you were missing. When you are talking about components like ARC you can be certain of great results. The upgrade to an LS28 would be a great upgrade. I completely agree that the preamp is the heart snd soul and this is a great preamp. In addition it sets you up to hear marked improvements when you choose to upgrade any other of your components.
I have owned many versions of ARC preamps and phono stages. They are wonderful. They only stumbled a bit on the REF 1 and REF 2 preamps. |
I have owned many ARC preamps including the LS2B, but not the MK2. I also feel the preamp is the heart of the system. Much more important than the amp. I currently own a Ref 5se which I dearly love. My Ref 5se was a demo. Buying a demo or even used can save quite a bit of money. And it is already broken in. The LS28 is a wonderful preamp and would be a significant upgrade. Get the se version if at all possible. Speakers would also make a big difference.
My advice is to make a long term plan and work toward it. Upgrade one piece at a time. Maybe a preamp first and then speakers. You may not realize the full potential of the new preamp at first. But as you upgrade other pieces you will. And you will not feel the need to upgrade it for a long time.
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