Audio Research LS17 SE... amp parining?

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Jeffwalker01

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Hey everyone. I just bought an ARC LS17 SE and I'm not sure what amp to pair it with. I've been using a solid state amp but I guess I'm open to tube amps as well. Looking for a warm bright sound if that helps. Does anyone here have a match they are especially fond of?
 
Jeffwalker01 said:
Hey everyone. I just bought an ARC LS17 SE and I'm not sure what amp to pair it with. I've been using a solid state amp but I guess I'm open to tube amps as well. Looking for a warm bright sound if that helps. Does anyone here have a match they are especially fond of?
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Jeff congrats on the ARC (nice line stage). Just so you know while pairing an amp with a preamp is important (impedance matching) your amp concerns are much more relevant to your speakers ........... so tell us more !
 
Mikado463, thanks man! My budget is between $1K and $2K and I have a set of Dali Mentor 5 speakers that have been very good to me. That will change soon as I'm also going to buy a pair of Harbeth C7s so that will be the amp-speaker pairing. Not in a huge rush and I'm willing to wait until the right match comes along. Definitely excited to see how the ARC LS17 sounds with the new setup.
 
Jeff, To get some solid reccomendations it is necessary to know a bit more about your music taste, what you value most in an audio systems presentation, size of the room, etc.
The more information you provide the better match could be suggested.
 
and join the harbeth facebook group run by paul yoo on here and see what amps they use . which include pass labs , sugden and many others .
 
Might want to consider what Alan Shaw says in the user forum: "The question of 'will this amp work with these speakers?' seems to have a life of its own. I just cannot fathom out why there is so much anxiety about grabbing any competent amp and hooking it up to your Harbeths and making great music. It seems to me that the fundamental essence of a good amp, well designed and working to original specification is that it must be relatively load-independent and the essence of a good, well designed speaker is that it must be amplifier-independent. So what's the anxiety about then? Who has planted the fear in the minds of an entire generation of hifi consumers that the amp/speaker interface is super-critical to the musical experience? With Harbeth it isn't." That being said, congrats on the ARC LS17!
 
I not so long ago got the LS-17 SE also. I have tried a few amps along the way but am currently using the PS Audio M700 mono amplifiers. These retail at $2998 a pair but you should be able to get a pair in the low $2k's.... since these are a new model and very popular and have been getting great reviews you will probably not see a lot used out there.

The stereo version also worked rather well for me, the S300, but the M700s are considerably better.

I power KEF R700, another European designed speaker, so probably similar to the speakers you are looking at.
 
I use tubes and the greatest thing about the LS17 is that I don'thave to think or worry about it. Like Mikado463 said, the amp has more to dowith the sound you want AND your speakers. Come over to the tube side... you won't be disappointed.
 
ARC is a solid brand so congrats on the new ARC LS17! If you're open to both Tube or SS, I'd say solid-state are, watt for watt, cooler running, more reliable and cheaper than tubes. That being said, Tubes are still around for a reason... because they offer such a unique sound. Personally, I like both for different reasons. Tubes can be a bit finicky with certain speakers and SS amps tend to be more forgiving in their speaker pairings. Since your open to both, you might want to look into Pass Labs Alephs amps or a used Luxman Tube Amps.
 
I am changing directions on the amp(s) that I am using with my ARC LS-17 SE. I am going to try a T+A amp. From all I have read and hear they are supposed to be the type of amplifiers that should fit the bill for me. Knowing how much I love my T+A DAC I know the quality, build and design will be satisfying. The sound performance should be right up my alley, so to speak!
 
Suncoast mentioned on another thread he took in an ARC 75se, may be out of the budget, you'd have to check, I'd think ARC would work well with ARC and be a nice match with the Harbeth.
 
It really depends on your use as well. I have had amplifiers with way too much power (PS Audio, Son of Ampzilla, etc.) but I seem to prefer the amps with lower power. Maybe because I do not listen very loud and I love open amps with great sound stage and instrument definition.

I really enjoyed the First Watt and the Goldmund Job amps, but felt neither would be my long term solution. I also really loved the sound of the Quicksilver tube amps I owned, but they were way to finicky and seemed to change with the weather (very weird indeed), and the classic ARC tube amp I had. loved the build but felt it was a bit too old to depend on it completely moving forward.

The T+A gives me everything that I loved with the FW (accurate, open, smooth) and the speed of the Goldmund.... warmth of the QS, plenty of power for my use.... the only issue that I see is believing that so much can come from such a small package. :D
 
i paired my ls17se with an arc d120 (recapped in 2008) and an odyssey kismet (every single possible upgrade without going monoblocks). i also had it function as the pre for an ayon spirit 3. they ran great on a pair of raidho c1.1 and dyn contour 1.4le but i sold the ls17se for a soulution 721 so did not have a chance to test on my magicos

the ls17se was a great preamp but after some time i noticed that the soundstage depth was lacking and that the overall tone was whitish. i haven't had the pleasure of hearing some of arc's higher end pres.

if i may make a suggestion: i've found that preamps are the 2nd most important part of the chain (speakers being first) in terms of setting system tonality. one test that helped me come to this conclusion was the ls17se+ayon pairing...without it the ayon tonality was there in the system, with it - the sound was remarkably close to the arc stack i was running prior. the raidhos preferred the solid state amp so i noticed the sound stage was a it smaller and bass didn't go as deep. but it was pleasant and i ran that set up for a few months

i threw more money at a pre and will upgrade amps in the future. if you snag a screaming deal on an amp you might get some real value out of applying the saved funds towards an even higher pre in the arc line. if not, then rest assured that the ls17se is a fantastic choice. i don't want to turn this into an unsolicited ad, but if you're interested in the d120 feel free to pm me. it is sitting unused and is a great piece of gear

sorry for the scattered thoughts - writing this at work between meetings!
 
Everyone responds to this type of thread by recommending what they own, so one more wont heart, right?

Odyssey makes solid state Kismet monoblocks housed in their Khartago boxes to keep the price lower. These can be found used between $1k and $2k. Besides being comfortable with about any load, you mentioned wanting warm/bright sound. Those terms don’t normally go hand in hand, but the cool thing about these Odyssey amps is that they can be biased to produce warmer or more detailed (brighter) sound. Dial them in for the best synergy with your system, room and ears.

Odyssey will bias them for you, but it would be best guess based on a conversation. Also, Odyssey is very backlogged right now so it would take a while. Call them for instructions and do it yourself!
 
yeah my process with klaus @ odyssey was extremely seamless and the bias to the voltage in your socket is super helpful. in nyc, my 110v socket was actually putting out 124v on average (and on median). so having it biased for my weirdly high voltage helps everything

the only negative is the back log. i ended up having to wait 6 months for my amp and at many times through the process i would see attractive pieces on agon and consider cancelling my order. one time, i called klaus and asked him if i should cancel to pick up another amp i was eyeing. he, very simply, walked me through why he though the kismet would be better and where the competitor amp might outshine - it is hard to express just how un-salesy and not-pushy he was in that convo (as well as all my convos with him)

i am super glad i waited because the product i got blows my mind. it's just as comfortable with magicos and a soulution pre as it was with some raidhos and a caravan of pre's (none touching the refinement or price! of the soulution). i genuinely feel its a world class amp and will be the last piece i upgrade and would only really be replacing it with a 710/711 or equivalent constellation/boulder gear i.e. mega-amps when thats a fiscally responsible decision.
 
p.s. for any sharks in the nyc area that would like to hear the amp - shoot me a pm and i'm happy to have you over for a demo
 
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