Post by sidvicious on Sept 27, 2015 16:19:53 GMT -5
Preface:
As many times as I had been in my dealers store, I had looked at this model, but always heard the Audio Research Ref 5se, because the Audio Research LS17se was plugged in, it was a display model. My dealer has a habit from time to time sponsoring events where he will either have a night out and have people come to the store to listen to equipment or he will have a manufacter(s) come into the store and explain their equipment while we listen to selected pieces, one event was at his store and he invited Richard Vandersteen in one Thursday to take questions and listen to music at his store and later on the local bar. The next day on a Friday Audioquest came in to answer questions and digital music was discussed.
He also took equipment to two separate bars that had separate rooms for live bands to play in and he set it up and invite his customers, either in person or through email to come in and listen. Let's just say he had a packed house at all of the events and at the bars a couple of customers brought in their selections. On one such event at the bar, he brought in the Audio Research LS17se, DS450-stereo amp (Class D), Audio Research Dac-8 and Sonus Faber Olympia speakers and a Project 9.2 turntable with SimAudio 310LP, phono preamp and the matching SimAudio 320s power supply. (SimAudio, the moon stuff is outstanding and I will try to get some of it to review, their DAC and Headphone Amp, wow!!!) Well needless to say, I not only sit there with my beer and eyes fixed on what I was hearing.
The vinyl sounded as if the musicians were in this huge room and the acoustic were spot on. You could tell when the music started, when the timbre got louder, louder and louder still and the end sounded as if you had been at a concert and the crowd clapped after each selection, priceless, simply priceless. I got introduced to new music from the playlist that I later sought out and purchased.
The LS17se was magical that night every song I heard was captivating. Audio Research gear has the unique ability for the music to start off quiet and rise in intensity like real music and you hear it and feel it. (The newer stuff that is) I sat there and asked the owner, was this the LS17se that never gets any play from the store, he said yes and I took a look at the other components that I normally don't have set up in the store and tell me what you think, I was floored, even the Audio Research DAC 8 wasn't normally played because of the CD9, which had a built in DAC. After this event and even though I knew I couldn't ever purchase a Ref 5se, $13,000 unless I got a deep discounted to 70 percent off, the LS17se was possible, if only, if only I could get the right price, MFG $5500.
I had looked at the Audio Research LS17se, and I had been looking at this model, a LS25 MKII, LS26 for over two years. My dealer told me that this, LS17se is a baby Ref 3. The SE version hit the market in 2011 at $5,500. The upgrades in the SE version over the original LS17, included “new Teflon coupling capacitors as well as other internal performance enhancements. The LS17 SE has two 6H30 twin triode tubes in the Class A audio circuits. There are 7 inputs including 2 balanced inputs, and 4 outputs including a tape out, a single-ended output on RCA jacks, and 2 balanced outputs on XLR jacks. A welcome feature in this age of system integration is a remote trigger to turn on and turn off other components when the preamplifier is energized.
Music Selected:
The music for this is Bob Dylan the Freewheelin (SACD) song #2 Girl From the North Country.
Associated equipment:
Audio Research CD8, Audio Research VT100 MKIII, connected through balanced XLR's with Audioquest Colorado, Vandersteen 2ce, Signature II's (Audioquest Castle Rock Cable) with a Vandersteen, 5hp crossover hooked up to a Vandersteen 2wq sub.
Build Quality:
The build quality is excellent and fit and finish great, this is a lighter piece than my Rogue Nine-Nine.
The Review:
Well I listened to this SACD(the Audio Only Layer) and song #2, "Girl from the North Country" The guitars start the track through both speaker and Dylans voice enters on both channels, dead center, (everything is) like he is in the room. The guitars get lower, and lower still while he sings to you at 2:17 seconds, the harmonica enters, it fades, he sings the harmonica takes over and comes out of the left speaker and stays there getting louder, louder and falling lower and lower until the song is done, wow, wow, wow!!! (I love Dylan)
Conclusion:
I had a Rogue Ninety-Nine, which was good, but this is in another league, I will never own another preamp that doesn't have balance inputs. The two traded blows when it came to certain record at times, some older Impulse Records/ Early Bluenote Records would sound better on the Rogue, but other titles would sound better on the Audio Research. All Digital both computer audio and CD sounded better on the Audio Research and very well recorded Vinyl always sounded better on the Audio Research. Even though my dealer never got the price quite right on this one, no Demo models, Audiogon can be an Audiophiles best friend. (The Rogue is in at the Dealer on trade). With all of the tweaks performed the advantage the Rogue had in some songs is now gone and it's time for the Rogue to go as well, nice preamp, but!!!
I hooked up with a gentleman that had great comunication skills from start to finish and he dropped his price at least once to a price I couldn't walk away from when my LS27 deal fell through. I bought from him and he communicated from the time the transaction started, through the shipping process and after the product was delivered and he even gave me at least a week to review it before I gave him feedback. Is this everything I thought it was, in a word, yes. The LS27 would have been nicer, all balanced and RCA inputs, you can individually set the volume levels for each source and it has a stereo mono switch, which the Rogue had. The Rogue was a good, but knowing what I know now I would have kept my Belles 20, which was balanced in and out and the Rogue wasn't. The 6SN7 isn't as reliable a tube as the 6H30 in the Audio Research or as reliable as what was ever in the Belles. This has been an interested Journey and I'm glad I traveled this path, the knowledge gained is invaluable!!!
As many times as I had been in my dealers store, I had looked at this model, but always heard the Audio Research Ref 5se, because the Audio Research LS17se was plugged in, it was a display model. My dealer has a habit from time to time sponsoring events where he will either have a night out and have people come to the store to listen to equipment or he will have a manufacter(s) come into the store and explain their equipment while we listen to selected pieces, one event was at his store and he invited Richard Vandersteen in one Thursday to take questions and listen to music at his store and later on the local bar. The next day on a Friday Audioquest came in to answer questions and digital music was discussed.
He also took equipment to two separate bars that had separate rooms for live bands to play in and he set it up and invite his customers, either in person or through email to come in and listen. Let's just say he had a packed house at all of the events and at the bars a couple of customers brought in their selections. On one such event at the bar, he brought in the Audio Research LS17se, DS450-stereo amp (Class D), Audio Research Dac-8 and Sonus Faber Olympia speakers and a Project 9.2 turntable with SimAudio 310LP, phono preamp and the matching SimAudio 320s power supply. (SimAudio, the moon stuff is outstanding and I will try to get some of it to review, their DAC and Headphone Amp, wow!!!) Well needless to say, I not only sit there with my beer and eyes fixed on what I was hearing.
The vinyl sounded as if the musicians were in this huge room and the acoustic were spot on. You could tell when the music started, when the timbre got louder, louder and louder still and the end sounded as if you had been at a concert and the crowd clapped after each selection, priceless, simply priceless. I got introduced to new music from the playlist that I later sought out and purchased.
The LS17se was magical that night every song I heard was captivating. Audio Research gear has the unique ability for the music to start off quiet and rise in intensity like real music and you hear it and feel it. (The newer stuff that is) I sat there and asked the owner, was this the LS17se that never gets any play from the store, he said yes and I took a look at the other components that I normally don't have set up in the store and tell me what you think, I was floored, even the Audio Research DAC 8 wasn't normally played because of the CD9, which had a built in DAC. After this event and even though I knew I couldn't ever purchase a Ref 5se, $13,000 unless I got a deep discounted to 70 percent off, the LS17se was possible, if only, if only I could get the right price, MFG $5500.
I had looked at the Audio Research LS17se, and I had been looking at this model, a LS25 MKII, LS26 for over two years. My dealer told me that this, LS17se is a baby Ref 3. The SE version hit the market in 2011 at $5,500. The upgrades in the SE version over the original LS17, included “new Teflon coupling capacitors as well as other internal performance enhancements. The LS17 SE has two 6H30 twin triode tubes in the Class A audio circuits. There are 7 inputs including 2 balanced inputs, and 4 outputs including a tape out, a single-ended output on RCA jacks, and 2 balanced outputs on XLR jacks. A welcome feature in this age of system integration is a remote trigger to turn on and turn off other components when the preamplifier is energized.
Music Selected:
The music for this is Bob Dylan the Freewheelin (SACD) song #2 Girl From the North Country.
Associated equipment:
Audio Research CD8, Audio Research VT100 MKIII, connected through balanced XLR's with Audioquest Colorado, Vandersteen 2ce, Signature II's (Audioquest Castle Rock Cable) with a Vandersteen, 5hp crossover hooked up to a Vandersteen 2wq sub.
Build Quality:
The build quality is excellent and fit and finish great, this is a lighter piece than my Rogue Nine-Nine.
The Review:
Well I listened to this SACD(the Audio Only Layer) and song #2, "Girl from the North Country" The guitars start the track through both speaker and Dylans voice enters on both channels, dead center, (everything is) like he is in the room. The guitars get lower, and lower still while he sings to you at 2:17 seconds, the harmonica enters, it fades, he sings the harmonica takes over and comes out of the left speaker and stays there getting louder, louder and falling lower and lower until the song is done, wow, wow, wow!!! (I love Dylan)
Conclusion:
I had a Rogue Ninety-Nine, which was good, but this is in another league, I will never own another preamp that doesn't have balance inputs. The two traded blows when it came to certain record at times, some older Impulse Records/ Early Bluenote Records would sound better on the Rogue, but other titles would sound better on the Audio Research. All Digital both computer audio and CD sounded better on the Audio Research and very well recorded Vinyl always sounded better on the Audio Research. Even though my dealer never got the price quite right on this one, no Demo models, Audiogon can be an Audiophiles best friend. (The Rogue is in at the Dealer on trade). With all of the tweaks performed the advantage the Rogue had in some songs is now gone and it's time for the Rogue to go as well, nice preamp, but!!!
I hooked up with a gentleman that had great comunication skills from start to finish and he dropped his price at least once to a price I couldn't walk away from when my LS27 deal fell through. I bought from him and he communicated from the time the transaction started, through the shipping process and after the product was delivered and he even gave me at least a week to review it before I gave him feedback. Is this everything I thought it was, in a word, yes. The LS27 would have been nicer, all balanced and RCA inputs, you can individually set the volume levels for each source and it has a stereo mono switch, which the Rogue had. The Rogue was a good, but knowing what I know now I would have kept my Belles 20, which was balanced in and out and the Rogue wasn't. The 6SN7 isn't as reliable a tube as the 6H30 in the Audio Research or as reliable as what was ever in the Belles. This has been an interested Journey and I'm glad I traveled this path, the knowledge gained is invaluable!!!
