Audio Research SP-11 MK2 ...


Is it still consider a top class preamp or it is already outdated ? Is its phono section still excellent when comparing to other top class phono stage ?

Thanks...
edle
I have had my SP-15 for about 10 years now. I sent it in to ARC in 2004 due to a bad umbilical cord and they refurbished it while it was there by replacing all of the electrolytic caps in the power supply. About a year and a half ago, I bought some NOS tubes for the phono section. The difference in sound blew me away. I am still enjoying my vinyl as if new with these tubes. After my SP-15 has been on for about an hour, I can sit down and enjoy the music, but the music gets more fluid (best way I can describe it) after it has been on for 8+ hours. I have listened to the REF 5 with the REF ARC amps on a different system, so a bit out of context. Very nice sound, but I don't feel like I am missing anything. Good thing, or else I wouldn't be able to sleep until I found a way to aquire the REF 5. As for remote; that's what the kids are for...
I owned an SP-11 mk II for a number of years. In its time it was one of the best preamplifiers available, and it gave me a lot of pleasure. It is still good, but I believe it to be surpassed by the better preamps out there now (I replaced it around 1990 with a Jadis JPL/Vendetta SCP-2B combination, as the tubed JPL was more to my liking and the Vendetta was a quieter and better phono stage than the ARC's). It is not really as liquid or dimensional as a great tube preamplifier, and its solid state circuitry is not as good as more recent mainly solid state preamplifiers I have heard, like the Lamm L2 (the tube in that unit is in the power supply) and Boulder units. It's very good as far as vintage equipment goes, as Elizabeth says, and it does have some very useful features that you don't find in modern units (especially for listening to vinyl, including a mono switch and a knob in the front for some cartridge loading). I have found it interesting that it does not seem as prized in the used market as the SP-10 that it replaced in the ARC line.
I recall the ARC SP-10 having legend status back in the 80s. That probably carries down through the years.
Minorl's SP-11 now sits in my system deep behind the Orange Curtain (South Orange County, CA) and I remember listening to his system a few years back when he was kind enough to do an A/B session to help me in my decision making process. The SP-11 held up very well against his Ref 3.

I use the SP-11 quite extensively now, but I do prefer my SP-10 mki for analog playback (60% of the time) and the SP-11 for digital playback (remaining 40%). But then I get my jollies moving power sources and front ends around every 3-4 months (not!). If there was a way to extract the best of both preamps and cram it into one, I'd be in audio heaven...

Elizabeth's adventure with her SP-15 is intriguing and I have never had the oppportunity to audition one. That would be a fun listening session, an SP-10, SP-11 and SP-15 shootout.
I've worked on both the SP-11 and the SP-10 extensively. The SP-11 is probably a bit quieter in the phono stage then the SP-10. Both are marvelous preamps. Both bench test very well. Before comparing a new preamp with a rather old preamp one would have to recap the old preamp. That way you are comparing apples to apples. After 15-20 yrs, both preamps should be recapped before any serious listening comparisons take place.