Sounds good with the right system

Did not sound good on my system.

I wanted to rerate this pre. I gave it a 2 in my 1st review.

2's are reserved for pure crap. This pre is not pure crap.

I did not like it at all in my system (see prvious review) but I have heard it with other equipment. The amp is quiet and has a sound stage better than I 1st gave it credit for.

I'm only bumping it up 1 star but I think in the right system people with this pre amp may be very happy.

Its just not for me. But its better than the 2 I gave it.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston BP-25

Balance tones & Detail

low hum when not using stereo, no viedo by-pass, too few controls

This was my 1st up-grade into the High End from mid-1980's Yamaha seperates. I owned the unit for one year and up- graded to the Audio Research LS-16 about a month ago. At 1st comparsion with an Aragon pre-Amp during listening trials to match to my Aragon 8008B Dual Mono Amp, the Audio Research LS-9 was more balance and sweet for Martin Logan SL-3 speakers, therefore I bought it. Later I realized that there was a low hum during non-listening times. Then when I bought an Acurus ACT-3 D/A for some Martin Logan central and rear channels, the Audio Research LS-9 had to be turned up all the way to carry the front channels (no Audio by-pass), which was a drag. Then when I bought a Rega turntable, it was time for a tubed Pre-Amp to mellow out the sound. The Audio Research LS-9 is a good beginning point to the High end, but it wont last.

Similar Products Used:

Audio Research LS-16

Very Musical,Excellent Build Quality,Nice Remote,Easy to Use,Very Quiet,2 Sets of Digital In's/Out's

Slight Lack of High Treble "Air" Response,Front Panel Volume & Source Controls Take Some Getting Used To

I upgraded from my "beloved" ARC LS-3 to the LS-9, and I am very happy that I did! The LS-3 was exceptional, although it had that "bright" or "sharp" solid-state sound that took something away from the musicality I had heard elsewhere. The LS-9 solved this beautifully with not a trace of that "bright" or "sharp" characteristic. The LS-9 is as close to a "sweet" tube sound as I have ever heard in a solid-state preamp. The LS-9 is very smooth, liquid, and just absolutely correct in its tonality. The soundstage opened up with noticably greater detail in the upper-mid range and a much deeper soundstage. The remote control is quite nice, can't imagine not having it now, and I really like it's size/weight as compared to the very heavy & clumsy remote with the Krell KRC-3. The KRC-3 seems to be equally musical, however with a more immediate or "up front" character in it's presentation that may be less comfortable over time for some into extended listening sessions. I really prefer the slightly "laid back" and "sweet" sound of the LS-9. The LS-9 has no lack of bass response and is quite accurate here. Only complaint is that the LS-9 does seem to have a slight lack of "air" or extended high treble response. All the treble information is there, however just slightly relaxed or not quite in proportion. With Thiel CS 3.6 speakers, this serves to help tame any brightness, however a little more air would be nice. System is: Somy XA7ES CD, LS-9 preamp, Krell KSA-250S amp, Thiel CS 3.6 speakers. In summary, the ARC LS-9 is beautifully built, dead quiet, and the most musical, tonally correct, solid state preamp I have heard at the 2K price point. Just a little lack of high treble which can serve to tame some "bright" systems. Highly recommended to all. The used market has been tough on the LS-9, with some selling for as little as $850; and at under $1,000 the LS-9 is simply a steal! I will have to give the LS-9 a 5 star value rating, and 4 star overall rating due to the slight softness in high treble response.

Similar Products Used:

ARC LS-3, Krell KRC-3

Balanced In's & Out's, remote, not too many useless "gadgets", build quality.

None Sonically.

After owning Krell and Levinson preamps without remote, it was wonderful to finally find a unit of the same quality, with remote that I could afford. I find the unit adds absolutely nothing to the music - which is what it's supposed to do! If you pair it with gear at or above it's quality, it will perform! Running it balanced did get a bit better gain, but neither single-ended nor balanced limited the gain in a negative fashion. The unit runs dead silent! It lists for $2000 new and I paid $800 for it and it was in mint condition. Do yourself a favor and don't spend equal $$$ on older ARC's - LS-2, LS-3, etc. w/o remote. It comes highly recommended. My system consists of:

ARC LS-9
BAT VK-200
CAL Icon MkII
KEF Reference 2
Nordost Blue Heaven Interconnects
Monster 2.2 speaker cable

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Similar Products Used:

Older Krell & Levinson.

I replaced my old Electrocompaniet with the LS9. Wow, was it nice. And the remote control will be hard to ever do without again. My only complaint is that the LS9 doesn't have tremendous gain, although I found it adequate. The soundstage is excellent and it is a nice match with the Music Reference RM9 I run on the mids and highs.

neutral, digital stepped attenuator

not enough single-ended inputs, no balance control, no power on/off switch

A decent solid-state pre-amp from a company known for their tubes gear. It does not impart much if any of a sonic character on the sound. It may tend slightly to the warm side of things though that might be my imagination.

There are only a total of 4 single-ended inputs (including the tape monitor) which might not be enough for you. Also, there is no unity-gain processor loop input making it difficult to integrate with surround sound or home theater system.

The bidirectional spring-loaded digital stepped-attenuator volume control ensures that you'll never suffer from a noisey volume pot later down the road. The remote is simple and functional, it controls input selection, volume, and mute.

The pre-amp has no balance control but the only time I've found them useful is when using dipole/bipolar speakers in a very asymmetric room.

The negative reviews that talk about this pre-amp not providing sufficient gain, i.e. having to turn the volume up all the way to get high SPLs, are simply wrong. This pre-amp has more than sufficient gain for amps with input sensitivites in the 1.1 to 1.5 volt range (pretty standard for mid-fi and high-fi amps).

The amp was probably a little overpriced at $1995. It's more like a $1695 pre-amp. You can find these used for $650 to $750 now making it a good bargain.

Similar Products Used:

NAD 1300, Threshold SL-10, Parasound P/LD-1500

Clear, Dynamic

Very good product in comparison to similar product at same cost .
Very quiet . Can understand the current rating . May work
better with "warm product" . Should be great with analogic
LP .

Tested with following system components: Nakamichi CD4 CD player
Transparent Musiclink Interconnect (CD to preamp)
Cardas Gold Cross Interconnect (preamp to amp)
ARC 100.2 amplifier
Tara Labs Prizm Biwire cables
Magnepan 2.7QR
M&K THX 5000 subwoofer

I tested a number of preamps for settling on the LS-9, including the ARC LS-22, Classe CP-45, Adcom GFP 750, and several Bryston linestages.

The LS-9 achieved a superior balance between value and performance. Sonically, its best feature is its noise floor, which is incredibly low -- virutally bottomless. The Classe and Bryston preamps were incapable of such low noise floor. To get the Adcom even remotely quiet required that it be operated in passive mode, which resulted in a significant gain reduction. Indeed, it was the noise of these units which took them out of the running.

The only other piece I auditioned with a similarly bottomless noise floor was the ARC LS-22 (now being replaced by the LS-25). However, the LS-22 runs approximately twice the price of the LS-9.

The other performance clincher that earned the LS-9 a permanent home in system was its superior definition and accuracy. Although the LS-22 is one of ARC's higher end pieces, I felt that it softened the sound a bit too much. The LS-9 seemed to retain all the warmth and musicality I hoped for, while giving me a little more punch, tightness and definition. Attack speed and transient response were a little better with the LS-9 in my system than with the LS-22, although the difference was ever so slight.

I have only two criticisms of the LS-9. First, it has barely enough inputs. You would run out of inputs if you had CD player, tape deck, TV, satellite, VCR, and DVD, unless you could run balanced inputs from some of your components. Second, volume control and input select on the unit itself are via spring loaded knob switches which require a little getting used to, but which turn out to be quite functional once you acclimate to them.

Nevertheless, I happily live with these inconveniences because the sound quality is so superior. The unit does what a preamp should with the music -- i.e., nothing other than switch sources and provide volume control. The sound is natural and uncolored.

Features include full remote control, two sets of balanced ins and outs, and monitor loop (which enables easy incorporatation a surround sound processor for home theater use).

All in all, this unit sonically outperforms anything else I have heard at $2000 and under. It is a solid performer -- a hard-core music lover's preamp at a relatively entry-level price. For a company which made its reputation on tube equipment, Audio Research is now doing some wonderful things in the solid state realm. The LS-9 earns at least four and half stars for sonic quality, and five stars for value. Because of the minor annoyances described above in terms of features, I give it an overall rating of four stars.

A very clean and quiet pre-amp. A real bargain at this price point.
However if not partnered with care it can easily sound lean, mildly grainy and a little bass light. Seems to work equally well with balanced or single ended connections.

I also upgraded to the LS-9 from the LS-3B, but unlike the previous post, I found the LS-9 to actually sound a little more open than the LS-3B. I had owned the LS-3B for over a year and really liked the sound. It was very open and dynamic, and I found the LS-9 to be equally dynamic while also giving a little more air on the top end. I have talked to many people who have owned the LS-9 and it seems like a real love/hate relationship. Some really love it, and others can't stand it. I would assume that this indicates the preamp is very system dependent, and though I would highly recommend it (the remote is addicting as well), as with any other piece of equipment, it should be auditioned in your own system. I would give it 4 1/2 stars considering its affordable price and remote.