preamp/system help

Having come up the ladder,my advice: ALL Audio research 9 & lower;as well as CJ 7 and lower: gar BAR je.I started with those.Because of their famous names,they have great resale. My next step was Encore 2010. 10X's the music.There is one in used for 12 or so.Hey,the advice is free;happy hunting.

Agree very strongly re: ARC SP-9. Despite an acute case of upgrade fever for the rest of my equipment, my SP-9 stayed in my system nearly forever, and only got removed in favor of a much more expensive unit. ARC is a standup kind of company, too, and is far more likely to be in existence this time next year than much of its competition.

I like to have both a tubed unit and a solid state, so every so often I can easily switch out. They both have great qualities. Avguygeorge-I have that Encore 2010 also. I really like it too, it's soooo smooth. Anyway, could you tell me what the tube compliment is? I can't find anywhere in the manual, and the tubes have no markings.

vinyl is *so* much nicer than cd; i'd start here. also, if ya have decent radio station(s), why not a tuner? you'd be amazed at the sound quality of a good station on a good tuner. i fya *only* want cd, tho, why even *bother* w/a preamp? yust one more piece of gear between the cd player & amp, how could that be an improvement? re: the ar sp9-mkll, this was my only ar experience; even w/new toobs, it was unlistenable - it was so slow, it wouldn't get out of its own way. and, i was using speakers/amps whose supposedly only negative qualities are their tendency to be bright/hard/forward, etc. still, the sound was lifeless, no dynamics, dark, etc.

Agree with others on ARC SP9 MKII. Despite Sedond comments, everyone else (me included) loves the SP9. One is listed right here mint for $900. However, would note that unless you have vinyl, the great phono stage would sit unused (and adds to cost).