 Audio Research LS26 - Balanced Tube Line Preamplifier
If you’ve read my rave review of the LS17 you’re probably wondering why you should bother considering the new LS26.
You might be thinking the 17 is such a great value that there may be no need to go any further. Well, let me just say
that without backing down one iota from what I said about the LS17, the LS26 is significantly better in every way.
The LS26 looks like a REF3, only less tall and with a smaller vacuum florescent display. Don’t tell anyone at ARC, but
I actually like the look and scale of the 26’s front panel better. Volume and source selection are still controlled by
traditional looking Audio Research knobs, while most other functions are handled by a row of buttons located just below
the display. Remember the days when high end preamps like those from Audio Research didn’t offer remote controls? Well
times have really changed. Here, the remote does everything, including some features that aren’t even offered on the unit
itself. The LS26 even has a great feature that the REF3 lacks; variable gain setting. So let’s say you have two sources
in your system- phono and CD. Your CD player has much more output than your phono rig and every time you change from phono
back to CD, the sound blasts you out of your chair. Not anymore. The LS26 will let you set each input to low, medium or
high gain and will remember those settings forever allowing you to smoothly transition among all of your sources. Very cool!
There is also an hour meter so that you know exactly when its time to replace your tubes.
The LS26 is derived from the REF3 and features a scaled down version of that circuit using two of the 6H30 triode vacuum
tubes. The large power supply is a new design that is solid state and much larger than the one found in the LS17. Parts
quality is first rate, featuring the same new C-core type transformers and proprietary output coupling capacitors that are
used in the REF3. With a total of only two 10,000 hour rated tubes, the LS26 is low maintenance and makes very little heat,
making this a tube preamp that virtually anyone could live comfortably with.
So, how does the LS26 sound? Nearly perfect. It is supremely clear and open sounding compared with all previous ARC preamps,
including the former top-of-the-line REF2mkII. This new circuit is faster without being aggressive or hyped. You don’t even
notice its speed because it sounds so natural. The LS26 also distinguishes itself from its predecessors with a near absence
of any grain or electronic sound. In this regard it is almost, but not quite, as liquid as the amazing REF3. The 26 is also
highly detailed with a clearer view into the soundstage than any of its predecessors. You get the sense that someone has
done a better job of cleaning the window between you and the music. Also, like other ARC pieces in this latest generation,
the LS26 achieves a new level of background silence that allows musical details to stand in greater relief to the noise
floor than was previously possible. In direct comparisons with the excellent LS17, the LS26 sounds bigger, bolder, more
open and spacious, and has more weight and heft. It also captures more of the decay of sounds allowing you to better
appreciate the transition to nothingness. In short, it has a wonderful combination of power and finesse.
So, who should buy an LS26? Anyone who wants to get as close as possible to the best sound this world has to offer but is
still highly value conscious. At $5,995, the LS26 costs a whopping $4,000 less than the REF3 for what I would describe as,
I don’t know, 85% of the REF’s performance? That’s a heck of a lot of REF-like sound for significantly less money. And the
extra $4,000 that you save will go a long way toward buying you a wonderful Audio Research power amp to enjoy along with
your new LS26!
-Dave Mitchell
|
