AR SP-c1 pre-amp

I heard this in the dim mists of the past way back in college before I could afford my own system. I believe they were made from the mid 60's to the early 70's. The first ARC unit I owned was the SP-3A which I recall at the time sounded a lot better than the SP-1. I gave away my SP-3A for free (That was probably a mistake) I would guess the only real value would be if you view this as a collectable. Blue Book retail is $300.

pls1, i think what you saw was a misprint. sp3a1 yes. i once rejected the sp3 because i could detect a slightly fatter bottom than the other preamps we were comparing. its stupid looking for flaws instead of looking for the excellences. now i have an sp3a1 thats in need of restoration, some idiot took a wire cutter to the tone control circuit. its going to take a vacation in minn if the hotel isnt too expensive. a fine sounding unit! it sure woke up my adcom 555II. i can hear the sneering comments now but just use your ears. the 555II is a credible amp. regards.........tr

I must not have been clear. There was definetly an ARC SP-1 unit in the late 60's/early 70s which I heard. I do not recall an a,b,or c designation. I bought an SP-3 in the early 70's and upgraded to the SP-3A. It was a fine preamp for its time that has achieved some cult status (which is why giving it away was a bad idea). I followed the ARC preamp line through the SP-6 and SP-11 when I moved over to CJ and hence to Melos. From reading eldragons other posts I have made some suppositions about his expectations and preferences, hence my opinion that I would not bother with an SP-1 even in my bedroom system.

thanks Pl..and Tommy i'll pass on that pre-amp...also you can see the unit, i am "quoting" is on E-bay auction, as we speak... check the description. Thanks again

Our collective problem in providing advice is that there is no such thing as the model you mentioned. We are trying to second guess what you are really considering. I will take a stab at assuming a different model having owned a SP-6C-1. As previously mentioned the SP-3a was the first significant ARC preamp circa mid 70's and ARC actually offers an upgrade of the unit today to more current specs. My guess is that you are looking at it's successor, the SP-6 series. The "C" version came out late in 1981. I owned a SP-6C, later updated to C-1 specs for nearly seventeen years before replacing it with a used SP-9MKIII. Physically, it has a full 19" rack mount face plate which the SP-3 series did not. The knobs were of the current design as opposed to the older large diameter design. As for sound, it was the first ARC preamp to not sound overly warm and tubey. In fact, the mags of that day called it somewhat icy. I liked its cooler character and definition. My SP-9 has much the same character, only much more air, low end impact, and detail. I wish I still had my old unit for my office system.

is there one? id really like to communicate wihth them this way rather than snail. thanx in advance........tr

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