Audio Research LS25 MK II ??

Thanks Dpac... I tend to agree that the speakers may be the area to focus on. I guess I'll take this to the speaker forum for some more suggestions, though I admit it will be tough to part with the 802s after all these years.

I also love this thread because I have the same 100.2/LS15 combo and you rarely see a good ARC thread. I've been very happy with this pairing, running 802 Matrix IIIs through a Linn Ikemi. With the cost of upgrading the preamp appearing to be in the 2-3k range, would this be better spent on a new preamp or would better speakers provide a bigger improvement for the money?

Ok, I think both your points are valid so the question becomes... which $3000 upgrade would yield better results given the specific components in question, the LS15 or 802 Matrix IIIs?