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I have had the LS-26 for a number of years now, and I love it. The sound quality and features are the best I have found.
The LS-27 is essentially the same.
It has unbeatable sound, and I love the fact that it has incredible flexibility, with 102 gain steps plus 3 gain ranges.
It also has balanced inputs and outputs on every channel; remote selectable.
Another thing that is very nice is the tube life hours meter.
You also have a large display you can see across the room, and a 6-step brightness and dimmer control.
One should be aware, though, that tubes don't last anywhere near as long as AR would like you to think.
My experience has been that the tubes go flat and the sound quality deteriorates in a big way after 800-1000 hours. AR certainly knows this, but they lie through their teeth. They claim thousands of hours, which is bullshit.
At least there are only 2 tubes to replace, so the cost is under $100. I am on my fourth set of tubes after 6 years. You can't leave it on all the time, or you will be replacing them twice a year. Warm-up time is short, so thats no problem.
You should be able to get the dealer to cut the price 10% with no problem.
If he won't, give him your phone number and walk away. He will do it.
You cannot go wrong w/ ARC or CJ.
Well thanks for the input. I've picked up the LS27 for audition, and the first word is WOW! The difference between the Ayre and LS27 is immediately obvious from the first couple of notes.