it is very good system

You can find another tube preamp as good as LS 16 Mark II at this price level.

without true balance input and output.

Mine is an ARC LS 16 Mark II. I was thinking to buy a LS 16 or LS 25 and eventually I bought a LS 16 Mark II because after careful study of the circuitry and parts used, I found LS 16 Mark II is almost a duplicate of its large brother LS 25 Mark II. Both preamp use two 6H30 tubes. The standard tubes come with the preamp are an ordinary black label Sovtek and I replaced them with Sovtek gold label, gold pins 6H30. The sound performance jumped up at least 1 level. The sound of LS 16 Mark II indeed is very closed to LS 25 Mark II but just a very little less detail. The highs is a very very little less transparent. If you can accept LS 16 Mark II, you save about $1500 which is the extra price for a LS 25 Mark II. My power amp is a Jeff Rowland Model 8, the LS 16 Mark II works very well with the Model 8. Besides the LS 16, I also have a SP-11 Mark II which is my collection for life. I enjoy my present system very much, the only thing is my wife's protest that I spend too much time on the audio and leave her alone.

What else could you want in a preamp? Unless you spend mega dollars on your system(25k+), then it's a matter of taste.

None that I've discovered

This is an outstanding preamp. The sound is resolved and dynamic. I've been in the hobby for 30 years and have owned many components. This one will stay in my system for years. The sound quality and build quality would be hard to surpass at twice the price so it stays. Zero problems and Audio Research has outstanding service if ever needed, which is unlikely. Bass to treble is excellent. Just a tad bit of tube warmth to make my SS amp sound perfect.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom 555II, Carver,Denon,Krell.

Consistent dynamic range; ease of use; scintillating highs; excellent sense of timing on most materials; layered, detailed, delicate midrange.

Some heavily miked and recorded bass materials apparently exceed the power-supply regulation envelope; when that happends, the bass is less tactile than it could be, and the midrange accuracy suffers.

The unit purchased was an LS16MKII. It replaces (so far as the line stage is concerned), an SP9MKIII, although that unit continues to be used for phono amplification. I had also had available for use, over a period in excess of a month, of an LS 22, which I declined to purchase used from him, because it lacked a remote unit, and the six tubes had not been replaced since its acquisition in 1996. Furthermore, there seemed to be a dynamic imbalance that led it to project midrange, something that does not work well with my Audio Research VT 100 MKII, Linn AV 5140 combination. Furthermore, the highs on the LS22 seemed less than scintillating. The highs on the LS16MKII seem scintillating, and the treble range generally seems very open and delicate. There is a continuity in dynamic range from top to bottom that makes for a seemless sound that works well in the context of my system. The power transformer is much smaller than that in the LS22. The solid-state regulators render that difference irrelevant up to a point, but in this, as in all other such compromises, a point is sometimes reached. It is reached in very demanding CD''s such as the Holly Cole Trio, Don''t Smoke in Bed. The LS16MKII cannot produce the tactile bass that the LS22 produces on cuts like "I Can See Clearly Now." Nor are the attack and delay of instrumental resonances of the bass guitar produced as well. In addition, the Holly Cole''s voice does not sound as nice. One has the feeling that the power supply regulation of the LS16MKII cannot handle the demands of the most demanding passages. This does not happen on most CD''s or vinyl discs, however, where the bass sounds dry, neutral, dynamic, and controlled. Furthermore, dynamic shading is handled better on the LS16MKII than on the LS22 (and much better than in the line section of the SP9MKIII). This is illustrated by listening to almost any cut in the CD of the Sound of Music. In the wedding song, by the way, the organ peels out with an awesome sense of power; clearly the power supply regulation is up to that task. And the solid-state regulators appear to be very quiet, as reflected by the absence of extraneous noise from the signal. The LS16MIKK is particularly good in making multi-miked material sound clear, detailed and quiet rather than noisy; to a greater extent than did the LS22 (not to mention the SP9MKIII).

Similar Products Used:

Audio Research, SPMKIII; LS 22

NEUTRAL,FAST,AIRY

NOTHING

THIS AMP IS MY FOURTH AR PREAMP.IT IS VERY GOOD WITH MY KRELL 350 MC MONOS AND SONIC FRONTIERS DIGITAL. AR LS 16 IS NEUTRAL, AIRY, DYNAMIC. I HAVE OWN MANY TOP PREAMPS BUT I THINK AR IS SIMPLY BEST.BECAUSE MY SPEAKERS DUNLAVY 6 ARE VERY NEUTRAL AND ACCURATE I HEAR EASY DIFFERENT TO OTHER AMPS. I RECOMMEND IF YOU WANT ONE OF THE BEST, I WANT AMPS AND SPEAKERS SO I CHOICE AR,KRELL,DUNLAVY

Similar Products Used:

LS 15

balanced, neutral, quiet, smooth, natural

None, except I don't really like the volume control

I've been holding off on reviewing the LS16 because I really didn't know what to say. It's hard to describe the LS16's character, because it almost seems to have none. I suppose if me ears were as sensitive as the reviewers at Stereophile or TAS I could do a better job of describing it, but to me this preamp seems to add almost nothing of itself to the music.

Unlike much of today's solid state equipment, it's not bright at all. However, true highs in the source will sparkle with the LS16. Likewise with the bass. The LS16 lets you hear what's there. If you have a CD with a bass line that really slams, then the LS16 will make you jump. But probably its midrange is the sweetest. It's clear, defined, and all there at any volume.

I supposed this a preamp for the purist. Tbere's not that much control flexibility and it helps to have associated equipment with balanced INs and OUTs. The operation of the volume control on the unit takes a little getting used to (it does have a remote however).

These quibbles aside, if you're looking for a unit that will let the music flow naturally, add the LS16 to your short list.

I use it with the ARC 100.2, which makes a very sweet combination.

Smooth, Open soundstage, dynamic, and refinement

None

I use this preamp in conjunction with the Theta Dreadnaught to drive a pair of ATC SCM20T. The ATCs are known for their forward presentation and, to me, the treble is a tad harsh. The LS16 is perfect in taming these 2 areas and together with the Theta, the sound is sweet, open and dynamic. I have also auditioned the Mark Levinson ML-383 (integrated 100W). Detail retrieval is on similar level. Arguably, ML-383 offers slightly better 3D imaging. But the ARC is better in soundstaging and sounds more natural. Comparing to the Krell Kav-300i, the Krell sounds a lot 'harder' and not as neutral (and natural) as the LS-16. The Chord (listened to it in a Hi-Fi show) sounds too analytical and to me, it's simply too forward and bright. As my LS16 had an initial noise problem during break-in, I had it returned to the importer for test and used an LS-15 during that 3 weeks period. The LS-15 sounds fuller, but detail retrieval and transparency are signifigantly inferior to the LS-16. Listening to complicated mixes (e.g. Bryan Ferry's albums in the post-Roxy music era) reveals the difference straight away. Resting the LS-16 on isolation cones makes it sound even better. Of course there are better preamps around, at a higher price. But in this price range, the LS-16 offers very good price/performance ratio, and flexibility.

Similar Products Used:

ARC LS15, Krell Kav-300i, Mark Levinson 383, Chord 2800

Let's find another preamp with this sound.

impossible find them.

It' very hard to describe this preamp.j think that it's one of the best preamp ever built. Before having thi preamp, j had an ARC LS8 MKII.Differcences: LS8's sound is very good, but this LS16 is the "VERY AUDIO RESEARCH PREAMP".
Great definition,freshness, solid and controlled bass, and a tonal coherence very difficult to find into preamps around 5000$. It's cost is not affordable, but after having listened it, everyone falls in love with it.
It needs one hour to sound natural but after this burning in period, the sonic scene that gives to you is great.
Five stars and more.

Relatively neutral, transparent, airy open soundstage, quiet, some tube sweetness w/o being too lush.

Good bass slam and depth but not quite that of some solid-state preamps.

I was looking for a tube preamp that had good transparency and soundstage without sounding too warm or lush in the midrange. The LS16 is fairly neutral while still retaining a bit of that tube magic.


My system consists of: Cary 306/200 CD player, Audio Research LS16 preamp, Conrad-Johnson Premier 11a tube power amp, Thiel CS 1.5 speakers. In my opinion, the CJ power amps have more "soul" and are more musically engaging than the Audio Research power amps. I needed a somewhat neutral preamp to blend with the sweet CJ Premier 11a.


My previous preamps included the CJ PV14L and PV12, both good tube preamps with a nice sweet sound but combined with the CJ Premier 11a, I found them to roll off the extreme lows and highs a little more than I liked and the bass was slightly soft.


The Adcom GFP-750 is an outstanding solid state preamp with broader coverage in the bass and up high. It has better bass slam, goes deeper, and has better dynamics than any of the tube preamps described here including the Audio Research LS16. For my taste, the GFP-750 is slightly bright but this modest Adcom really rocks! It lacked the soundstage and air of the LS16 and it had no hint of that tube magic I really love. I'm keeping my GFP-750 and still use it sometimes. I find it well suited for very dynamic rock music but it's not nearly as refined as the Audio Research LS16.


The Audio Research LS16 is an outstanding preamp at a list price of $3000 U.S. It's fairly neutral without being boring or analytical with outstanding soundstage. It's a keeper!

Similar Products Used:

CJ PV-14L tube preamp, CJ PV-12 tube preamp, Adcom GFP-750, Classe CP-35.

Very neutral, excellent soundstage.

None.

I brought my ARC LS9 in for a solder job on one of the output jacks and borrowed a ARC LS16. The LS16 never went back! I use it with a ARC D130, and Magnepans. An excellent combination.