Experiences with Audio Research LS-2B

The LS-2B on the used market ($700-950) is an outstanding value for the money. I've had one which I've kept through several different amp changes in my work system. It is a hybrid design using a single 6922 tube. It is very sensitive to tube changes and consequently will sound better with a good tube in there. I've tried many varieties and have come up with some fairly obvious conclusions: Favorites are Siemens CCa's, followed closely by Telefunkens (also the A-frame version), then Mullards. I've also tried Amperex (70's version - OK) and Sovtek (awful). My buddy has an LS2B that he's using the Soviet-made Rocket tubes (I think they are 6H30's...is that right?) and he says they sound great and he had rolled them against a Siemens A-frame I'd loaned him. I have yet to hear those tubes myself. My LS-2B has been modified by Steve Huntley at Great Northern Sound http://www.greatnorthernsound.com. I had him do his Standard mod on my unit which I've wrote about in other threads. In short, it is worth EVERY PENNY and brings the performance up to a markedly higher level - I've directly A/B'd mine against my friends stock unit with all other parameters identical and we both agreed immediately on that point. Steve also offers a "Reference" mod at about twice the price. My bet is that it would be worth considering as well, but is twice the price of the standard mod. Still, the stock unit remains an excellent sounding pre and is definitely worth it's asking price. Steve (Huntley) worked for ARC for many years, then went to WADIA and now has his own company, GNS. In my conversation with him on the phone he opined that the LS-2B was already one of the best pre's ARC made short of their Reference line. I've used it with several different amps and synergy was excellent with all but one. At home I have 300B SET amps and with those amps it tended to sound too cold and analytical...it took away some of the air and magic that I am used to with those amps (I otherwise use a Cary SLP-50A with those amps which is an excellent match, and is an all-tube design - stone simple with two 6cg7 tubes....a real sleeper of a pre-amp IMO). With everything else I've paired the LS-2B with it has matched up well. Those amps are: Mesa Baron, Quicksilver Silver 90's, Quicksilver EL34 Triode prototypes, Pass Labs Aleph 5, and Quicksilver Mini-Mites. Needless to say I am also a big fan of Quicksilver products. The LS-2B has the option of using a balanced "Direct" input (there is only one, so you can only run a single source this way, or swap out the interconnects if you wanted to run a different source), which bypasses some of the circuitry and gives the signal a more direct route to the output. I have found this does give you a definite, albeit marginal improvement with added clarity and focus. All of the other input options are strictly RCA's, while it has both RCA outputs and two pairs of balanced outputs (hence the "B" in the model designation).

Hope that helps.

Sunnyboy hit it right on the head: The potentials for differences in personal response to a given component or tweak can be as different as night and day. I've said it many times; it's all about synergy & personal preferences, combined with one's experience and expectations. Jafox (thanks for the preface, by the way, John) seems to have had a wider experience than me with other ARC components, whereas my experience is only with the one ARC pre (as well as with the GNS mod of that pre). Obviously we both are using the gear within distinctivly different systems/listening rooms, with likely very different preferences and expectations. Ultimately everything you read here is a generalization at best and should be taken with a bag full of salt (my own included). Your own ears are the very best guage of all, period! Anyone who tells you different is standing knee deep in manure! There are no aboslutes. Just like there are folks who do not recognize a great Zinfandel to be "superior" to wine dispensed from a box, there are those who hear no difference in listening to music through a boom box or a $50K system (perhaps they 'hear' a difference, but they just don't care, and or don't recognize that difference as being "superior"). It's all relative. Like Jafox, Steve Huntley also has much experience with ARC gear having worked there for many years. I emailed him recently to confirm that I'd quoted him correctly. He wrote back and did add that his favorite ARC pre's (non-reference) were the LS2B and the LS5, and that he prefers both with his mods. I can certainly agree with him on the LS2B, and have no doubt his mod of the LS5 would kick that pre up a notch. Jafox rightly does point out that he is comparing the LS5 at an average of twice the (used) cost of the LS2B, so I'm not surprised that the LS5 may indeed be a better pre in comparison, and do appreciate understanding what may be some of the reasons why (I am not saying that just because it cost more it does sound better, but I'd certainly expect it to, especially given that is from the same manufacturer and designed later). I still stand by my own (personal) experience that, for the price you pay on the used market, the LS2B does a damn fine job in my experience, and has mated well with a diversity of components. As I mentioned, with my 300B SET's I had the same experience of the LS2B as Jafox describes (cold, analytical, and not musical at all). But that has not been the case in the majority of other amps I've paired it off with. Also, the tube choice made a BIG difference in my experience. It may be interesting to note that the folks reviewing the LS2 on AudioReview are pretty happy with it too as it holds a 4.89/5 rating there with 9 reviews. Further mixed input can be found on AudioAsylum. Doing a search there you will find some opinions that fall more in line with what Jafox opines, and I do respect his point of view, BTW. I have not listened to all of the ARC gear he mentions so cannot comment on the comparisons he offers beyond this. You are right Sunnyboy; it's a good forum and offers a diversity of input that helps point you in the right general direction at best, but can just as easily be misleading. Ultimately your own ears will be the best judge.