Any thoughts on the Audio Research LS 8 mk II


I have been considering giving one of these a try. I remember that MC of Stereophile didn't think much of the original LS 8 compared to the previous LS 7. Audio Research has suggested that the LS 8 mk II was superior to some of their higher level pre's when used single ended. Please click on my "system" to consider whether or not you think it might work with the rest of my gear. Thanks in advance.
unsound
I used to own a LS-8. It was not a mark II unit though. I bought it right as it was replacing the LS-7. I did listen to both at the time and thought the 8 was much better. It had better bass, better soundstage. At the time, I used it with a Rowland 5 amp and Aerial 5 speakers. I only replaced the pre-amp with Another (LS-12) because of balanced outputs for my amp. I would highly recommed the LS-8.
ARC SP line of units are single ended. You may want to check out SP16. Or LS-15....I ran mine single-ended for years and it was awesome.