Datasheet

P r o d u c t R e v i e w
www.soundstage.com
the LS26 as a current product. It stands 19” wide, 5 1/4” high and
12” deep and weighs a decent 13 pounds. It can be ordered in
either ARC classic silver or basic black, with or without handles.
(Why anyone would want an Audio Research product in black
and without the handles is beyond me.) The two knobs control
volume—in 104 steps—and input. Below these and along the
bottom of the faceplate are four pushbuttons for Power, Monitor,
Processor, and Mute. All functions are duplicated on the nicely
sized remote control. There is a larger rectangular area above
with a green linear LED display to indicate the preamp’s operating
status—input chosen, volume level and the like.
Around back the LS17 has two sets of balanced and fi ve sets
of single-ended inputs—though two of the latter are for the
processor loop and tape monitor. There are also twin balanced
and single-ended outputs, so using a subwoofer with the LS17
will be a walk in the proverbial park. There is also a fuse holder
(note the fuse’s orientation if you remove it—ARC pays attention
to such things), a 12-volt trigger input, and an IEC power-cord
receptacle.
The LS17 is a hybrid preamp. It uses JFets in its input and gain
stages and a pair of 6H30P tubes in its output stage. The 6H30P
(or “super tube” as it’s been unoffi cially dubbed) is supposed
to be not only sonically superior but long lasting as well—which
sounds like a win-win situation to me. The LS17 has a solid-
state power supply with separate electronically regulated low-and
high-voltage supplies.
Voltage gain is 18dB balanced and 12dB single-ended, indicating
that the LS17 is indeed fully balanced. The LS17 does not invert
polarity—no futzing with speaker cables required.
What I heard
The LS17 was like John Wayne: unfl appable, cocksure, authoritative
and quietly powerful. There was a tactile realness and a distinct
sense of the recording venue, along with deep, tight bass. Its
highs seemed to extend into the stratosphere, allowing for great
portrayal of space—which showed ample layering and depth—
together with abundant detail. The LS17 does subtract one thing
I’d become used to with the SP16: There’s less of that classic
tube sound. The midrange is still richly reproduced—after all, the
LS17 still uses tubes—but now it’s far more neutral. If I’m going
to have to lose something in the exchange, that loss of tubey
colorations would be what I would have chosen.
One of my favorite jazz recordings is the soundtrack to Robert
Altman’s movie
Kansas City
[Verve 314 529 554-2], and it’s
Kansas City [Verve 314 529 554-2], and it’sKansas City
beautifully recorded. Through the LS17, I felt as though I
understood
the soundstage for the fi rst time. I wasn’t just peering into it from
the outside. I could sit back, close my eyes and revel in the honest
sound of all the instruments—not only in their placement, though
that was possible, but in their individual sonic signatures. I also had
a solid sense of each instrument in a very spacious soundstage,
yet all of this was only the opening epiphany.
With the LS17, there was real bite to trumpets and body to brass.
Bass and drums had power, and piano was realistically sized. With
the SACD of Ray Brown’s
Soular Energy
[Groove Note/Concord
Soular Energy [Groove Note/Concord Soular Energy
GRV1015-3], Brown’s big acoustic bass—the star of this particular
show—was tight, full, big, and seemed to go a few Hertz deeper
than I was used to. Pitch defi nition took a giant step forward.
I
felt like I was in the company of a real standup acoustic bass
being caressed into life by one of the true jazz masters of the
instrument, not listening to a mere reproduction.
If you want to hear what an audiophile means when he says a
singer is “in the room” then pluck Holly Cole’s
Don’t Smoke In
Bed
CD [Alert Z2 81020] from your collection and play it through
Bed CD [Alert Z2 81020] from your collection and play it through Bed
the LS17. Right from David Piltch’s opening bass line you can
close your eyes and hear everything, especially Cole’s voice, right
there in front of you all dimensional and real. This was, without
a doubt, the fi nest playback of this disc I’ve ever heard in my
listening room.
Dynamics are another strong point of the LS17. When Roy Orbison
sings from soft and gentle to full throttle on the fi nal verse of
“Mean Woman Blues” from the LP
The All Time Greatest Hits
of Roy Orbison
[S&P (2) 507], it brought me right out of my
seat. The LS17 never skipped a beat, sailing right on through.
This bears testimony to both the size and quality of the LS17’s
beef-up power supply. You don’t get thrills like these from
components with poorly designed power supplies, and Audio
Research certainly didn’t skimp on the one inside the LS17. This
is one of those hidden assets that you get for your money. It goes
unnoticed until you start listening.
You might conclude from everything I’ve noted so far that the
LS17 is nigh-on perfect. Like so many of its peers, it has its share of
limitations—you can’t expect everything for its price. For instance,
it doesn’t offer the widest or deepest soundstage I’ve heard, nor
does it sound as three-dimensional as the best preamps on the
market. It also lacks the ultimate sparkle and extension on top as
well as the fullest authority on the bottom. While it is very quiet,
it does not have the purest, blackest, most silent background,
nor does it dredge up every last scrap of detail. Despite all of
this, the LS17 is so cannily balanced, so well conceived, you may
fail to notice what it doesn’t do in an ultimate sense. Like John
Wayne, its faults only make it more human, and therefore more
easily taken to heart. If you want only the very best from Audio
Research, it’s out there. They call it the Reference 3, and it will
give you everything the LS17 lacks. It will also cost you more
than twice as much.
There is room for improving the LS17 with well-chosen tweaks.
The folks at ARC stress the quality of the power cord they include
with their products, claiming that using an aftermarket may not
necessarily be an upgrade. True? Yep, at least for some of the
LS17’s potential customer base. Audiophile that I am, though,
I couldn’t help but try my power cord of choice, the Harmonic
Technology Pro AC-11. Did I hear an improvement? Yep, though
it wasn’t nearly as signifi cant as when I replaced the stock cord
of the SP16 with the AC-11. But listening to the mix of acoustic
and electric instruments on the Soul Farm CD
Scream of the Crop
[Desert Rock Records 26-6] with the AC-11, I heard the LS17 more
easily sort out the instruments in the mix.
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