Opinions on Audio Research LS17 & LS26

I too own an LS-26 and am totally smitten with it.

It does everything that has been mentioned above... it's fast, it's dynamic and it has just the right amount of warmth in the mid-range. It's my first experience with tubes... as I always thought I would have to trade speed and pace - for warmth. This simply is not true with the 26 - it gives you the best of both worlds.

I don't have any experience with any other ARC products - so I can't compare it to the 25 but it's a brilliant pre-amp.

My system contains:
Linn Unidisk 1.1 (source)
Meridian 861 (processor)
Levinson 336 (amp)
Aerial 10T's (speakers)

I highly recommend the 26.

Audphile1:

The attached review compares the LS26 with the LS25MKII, as well as other ARC older preamps. I believe this reviewer hits the nail on the head:

http://www.drhifihousecalls.com.au/Reviews/ARC%20LS26%20Review/ARC%20LS26%20Review.htm

Hope this answers your question. If not, please provide more specific questions and I will be more than happy to respond.

I've read the review. Thanks.

All three ARC preamps, the LS17, LS26 and REF3, sound like they are cut from the same cloth because they are.

The LS17 sounds very much like a smaller version of the LS26. The 26 has a bit more weight, extension, dynamic impact and resolves a few more layers of detail.

This same thing can be said of the comparison between the LS26 and the REF3, but the REF also has the additional benefit of sounding just a bit more liquid and effortless than the other two models, both of which use only solid state devices in their supplies.

I am an ARC dealer.

I found that DrHIFI review to be more geared toward comparing/contrasting the LS26 and the LS15, not the LS25MKII. I don't mean to pick apart that fine review, but really, there just isn't much substance to go on, as far as compare/contrasts to the 25/2. Ultimately what MCRHEIST did is the number one way to go: direct comparison in your own room with your own familiar "stuff". Buying based on reviews is risky business, which I am certainly guilty of ;)