Dear stereo brother , when ever you tire of it , pls sell it to me . Thank you . My email : minhsanhvinh@yahoo.com.vn . i also have a website : www.loamay.com .

Wes Philips reviewed the LS-22 and compared it to a Krell (SS) preamp and later to the Conrad Johnson Premier 14.

Wes liked it, but in comparison to the CJ and the Krell, he thought the ARC to have a little too much emphasis in the 2-7K range that could make some discs sound too bright. It measured really well, but TJN found that if you don't disengage the balanced option while using the normal inputs it would result in truncated upper frequencies.

All the usual ARC virtues seemed to apply to the LS-22. But, Wes really, really liked the CJ...and obviously still does.

The ARC shouldn't be picky about sources or amplifiers as the impedence numbers are not weird. Something that you might experiment with, though. Wes actually preferred the SE inputs over the balanced and there is a difference in gain between the two. The SE inputs provide about 12db and the balanced about 18db. There seems to be a trend toward the former rather than the latter and 12db is becoming almost normal as people have tried to balance the virtues and problems with passive vs active preamps.

Maybe that helps until someone who has one chimes in.

Thanks for the replies. Monty, that is what I was looking for, Thanks a lot. I guess I am afraid I am compromising my other equip by using this pre. Viet guy , Hey!

The take I got on Wes' review is that the ARC is a fine preamp with a lot to like, he just liked the CJ more. The ARC is a hybrid type of preamp and probably doesn't have the tube liquidity that an all tube design usually has.

Depending on the type of music you listen to and the rest of your system, you might have a really good match with the ARC. But, if your average quality discs are sounding too thin and hot, the ARC might be a contributor.

If you like the sound now then forget about it. You might swap the ARC for whole new set of things that you like better and things you like worse. That's not always a good trade.

Monty has it right. It has been a while since I heard it, but even if the LS-22 was the worst sounding Audio Research preamp ever (and it wasn't), the worst ARC ever made is still pretty good company to keep.

I don't know what else you're considering, or what price you've been quoted, but the LS-22 is noting to sneeze at.

Thanks again for the responses. Wes, I do like the sound of my system. I guess I have been tempted by used prices of LS-25s, and even Reference 2s that I have seen lately. I was feeling insecure with my LS-22 because of some things I have read on the net lately.
Thanks again to all!

I have an LS22 that has the remote control option, in black. 

I love it! 

I have an ls7 mkII also, it has no remote, and I have the ls22 in my main system.  It does anything I ask of it, and more.  I think it sounds wonderful.

Yes, it has some "air" in it, I think they all do, love your ls-22, I think, to my ears, that it sounds every bit as good as a ref-5, at a third the cost...

For tubes, it has 8, yes, 8 6922/88c's in it.  I don't think it's a hybrid design at all!  Not sure who really thinks it is one.  I think it sounds as good or better than my ls 7 mkII does. 

At this point, they are an investment that I believe will only rise in value.

Please note that there are some ad people out there making negative comments about gear they actually want to purchase, and they've actually went as far ast to set up scam websites to purchase that gear, and publish false price information about the gear.  They'll put up fake prices to make people dump gear at lower prices.  The ls 22 is an item some of these people are targeting.  Be happy that you own gear that's good enough to have people doing nutty things like this to!