Looking to upgrade my preamp - suggestions?

I got to try an Audio Research LS 17 that belongs to a good friend and it sounded very good. I not in to tubes too much anymore, I found my self trying different tubes and it started to get in the way of just listening to music. I just bought a Pass Labs XP 10 from Reno Hifi and I find it to be extremely transparant provided you have the corect power cord. Another good pre-amp was one that another friend brought over was an Allnic L4000 and it was one of the best preamps I have ever heard. It was one of best I have tried in my system! I have heard that changing the tubes and or both modifying & changing tubes you can make the Manley Shrimp into a giant killer.

I'm thinking either a CJ 17LS2 or the ARC LS-26 at this point. Someone here mentioned matching the input impedence of my amps to the output impedence of the preamp? Not really sure how to determine which preamps would be suitable on that basis. I understand that you need a certain amount of gain but what is the ideal impedence range?

On the Shrimp, I agree that changing the tubes made a big difference. With the stock 12AT7 tubes the Shrimp sounded fine but upgrading to Mullard CV4024 and finally a pair of Telefunken ECC801s really kicked things up a notch. I like the look of the Manley Neoclassic gear actually, and their 300b preamp has gotten good reviews. Might be worth considering that preamp too I suppose.

Latinsamba1...i mentioned the impedance matching. You want to make sure that the input imedance of your power amp (300B Neo) which is 100Kohms is at least 10X of the output imedance of the preamp you are going to use. That is a min. Many people prefer >=20X. So in the case of the LS-26 it's output impedance is 700 ohms when used through balanced connections and 350 ohms through single ended connections, so no impedance mismatch there. I hope that makes sense. Here is a link to a post that I placed asking about this a while back and the responses I received so hopefully that will help in making it clearer: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1253079731&&&/Question-re-matching-pre-and-power-amp-i

Thanks Cmalak. I would be using the single ended connections because the amps only have RCA inputs, but that sounds like the LS-26 would work fine.

Question on the gain of the preamp. My Shrimp has 12db of gain which corresponds to turning the volume knob to roughly 9 oclock for my regular listening level. With the gain adjustments on the LS-26 (6,12 and 18db) is there any advantage to running a different gain level in terms of lowering the noise floor?

Yes...with the gain setting on low (6dB), when you move through the volume setting, you get finer gradations in the level than you would at medium gain (12dB) and at high level (18dB). So it just gives you the ability to fine tune levels to where you want them. Also depending on the gain of the amp you are using it with, if the power amp has a high gain setting, you can put the LS-26 on the low gain setting and again that allows you to get finer gradations in level when you move up or down the volume setting. The Ref 3 has single gain setting and when used with a high gain power amp for example, even at the volume level set at 1 notch above mute, you may get too loud a level for late night listening for example. So it just gives you flexibility. Hope that helps.

Is there anyway for you to audition the LS-26 vs the CJ pre in your system before deciding? Even if you just audition at a dealer with a system that is close to yours, it may be instructive to get an idea of the sound. ARC's latest offerings (like the LS-26) are very neutral as compared to other tube offerings and you heard some comments above that referred to ARC gear as lean. So it may be that you may not like or be used to this sonic signature (although I don't think it is lean but I have an all ARC system and so the synergy between the pre and power amp is there). I would at least give it a listen (preferably in your system but if not at a dealer) before deciding to pull the trigger. I personally love the ARC house sound but that is my opinion and listening preference. Others have different opinions. Good luck and let us know how you make out. Take care.