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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.
degen

Showing 1 response by dodgealum

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dodgealum
1,409 posts
 

Well, not exactly what you are asking but....

I've owned both MWI 36.5 and an ARC LS26, running them with both MWI and ARC amplification. Both are excellent. Between the two I favored the MWI for sound and the ARC for features and ergonomics. They are very close in sound quality and performance--I think you would be happy with either so maybe the question of system matching becomes more critical? As a related aside, I know you said you want to run balanced but if you are willing to consider a SE alternative I have found the Herron VTSP-3A (RO3) to be substantially better than either of the above. Not sure about impedance matching with the Pass gear but I'm thinking you would be fine. Just a thought...

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