I have never heard of First Sound Presence but I have an LS17 and love it; it is being replaced by an LS27 though. Eventhough my monoblocks are balanced and single-ended I prefer running single-ended between the preamp and amps; the LS17 has a lot of gain and it just sounds better to me running single-ended.
Audio Research LS17 vs First Sound Presence MKII
I am looking to purchase a tube preamp. It would be my first experience with tubes. My system is Coincident Total Eclipse speakers, Pass Labs X250.5 solid state amplifier, Classe Model 6 solid state preamp and Theta Miles cd player. The Music that I like is blues and classic rock. I am looking at Audio Research LS17 and a First Sound Presence Mark II. I have been using balanced interconnects between the cd player and preamp and also between the preamp and the amplifier. The LS17 has balanced, First sound does not. I like dynamics, imaging, and spacious sound stage that I have on my system now. Looking to have a more lifelike sound with removing a little of the solid state edginess. Any thoughts,comments, recommondations or experience of owning these peices would be appreciated.