Has anybody heard the new Audio Research LS 27?

Just a quick question here..Onhwy61, Have you ever designed a solid state of tube line stage or the power supply that goes to that line stage?? I love how people dismiss what's involved in the design of a product.If you had never designed a piece of audio gear then you have no point of reference and your comments are without merit. So here's the deal, when you have sat down for hours at a time and listened to 10 different manufacturers resistors and capacitors in only one small part of the circuit and played the same song over and over again at 2am ( when the line voltage is stable and quiet) and do this for months at a time till you voice the product correctly, then you can come back and tell me it's easy. Audio manufacturers should be given props for continuing to work on their designs thereby advancing the audio state of the art.

I haves owned and enjoyed using an ARC preamp. I even recently considered buying one of their preamps because I think they sound that good. But is ARC really any better or more dedicated to great sound than Atmasphere, Lamm, CAT, or any number of manufacturers? I think not.

BTW, I'm capable of judging a musical performance without ever having been a symphony conductor. I can hold a valid opinion about our commander in chief without ever having been the President. And yes, I can judge the relative complexity of building a preamp compared to some other components. Just because you can't do something doesn't mean I can't.

05-02-11: Onhwy61

BTW, I'm capable of judging a musical performance without ever having been a symphony conductor. I can hold a valid opinion about our commander in chief without ever having been the President. And yes, I can judge the relative complexity of building a preamp compared to some other components. Just because you can't do something doesn't mean I can't.
Onhwy61 (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

Anybody can have an opinion. But only a fool will form an opinion without any knowledge of the issues in question.

Anybody can have an opinion. But only a fool will form an opinion without any knowledge of the issues in question.

That's a fairly harsh statement. It's true that many people babble on here with little to no value. But there are many others who have much knowledge that is realized by the rest of us when we read their many contributions here.

I'll tell you what I would like to hear, a SP-10 Mk 3, that is maximizing that circuit with the best parts and see what we end up with. I know, I know the design is a bit long in the tooth compared to today's but I wonder how much better it could be. And of course there is that great phono stage. Great Northern had several mods for this pre and stated the extreme mod would compete with anything out there, and what about the LS5? How much more could be extracted from that great line stage with current parts and a few changes? And so far as going backward who here would say that the Classic series amps were an improvement over the D series amps? Not me for sure! Now the VT series got them back on track.

I haven't heard current production other than in unfamiliar systems so I won't comment but it seems unlikely that their middle of the road line stages couldn't be more than minor changes in circuit design. There is a benefit for ARC in promoting new models rather than making revisions to existing which is to say some will want the latest and greatest, not a bash on ARC but I don't particularly care for this approach, preying on the known insecurities of audiophiles:)