I use a LS36.5 and it is a great preamp and matches very well with my Pass X250. No doubt the LS27 is a fine preamp as well. I took home an older LS25 MKII to compare to my former ModWright SWL 9.0SE and the ModWright was better to my ears in every area so I made the choice to go with the LS36.5 and have no regrets whatsoever. I will likely at some point send it back in to Dan for the DM upgrade but in no hurry. If you need multiple balance inputs then the ModWright is possibly not the best choice as it has only the one. Doubt at this level you or anyone would be disappointed with either piece. Dan would probably send you a unit if you called him to evaluate... super great guy.
ARC LS27 vs ModWright LS36.5 for Pass Labs XA160.5's?
As the title suggests, looking for some opinions on which way I should head. Both can be had for the same price, but the ModWright will come with a 2yr warranty as it's an ex-demo unit from a dealer. What would some of you knowledgeable folks do? Anyone happen to have experience with either of these combinations? Unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to hear them in my specific system first.
System right now consists of:
Pass Labs XA160.5 amplifiers (will be running balanced, 30kohm input impedance)
Focal Scala Utopia speakers
As-yet-undetermined DAC
No analog front-end at the moment
On paper, the LS36.5 is better in terms of impedance matching but I've read a lot of folks have great success pairing ARC pre's with Pass Labs (the editor of Tone Publications said the Ref5SE sounded amazing with XA160.5's for instance). I would assume the ARC is a better preamp based on price and pedigree, but folks say the ModWright punches way above it's weight-class. Just looking for some opinions from the audiogon crowd! I'm leaning toward the ARC but worried about a mismatch despite reading the opposite from some users online.
System right now consists of:
Pass Labs XA160.5 amplifiers (will be running balanced, 30kohm input impedance)
Focal Scala Utopia speakers
As-yet-undetermined DAC
No analog front-end at the moment
On paper, the LS36.5 is better in terms of impedance matching but I've read a lot of folks have great success pairing ARC pre's with Pass Labs (the editor of Tone Publications said the Ref5SE sounded amazing with XA160.5's for instance). I would assume the ARC is a better preamp based on price and pedigree, but folks say the ModWright punches way above it's weight-class. Just looking for some opinions from the audiogon crowd! I'm leaning toward the ARC but worried about a mismatch despite reading the opposite from some users online.