Good detail, fine soundstage, always musical.

Bass not quite as deep and full as it could be. Highs nice
but not terribly airy.

Available on the used market for $700 or so, the Audio
Research LS3 represents a fine value. It certainly isn't
perfect and I replaced mine with a VTL Ultimate that mated
better with my system, but the LS3 is always musical. Many
solid state preamps just can't make music and sound quite
mechanical (i.e. the lower end Classe) while the LS3 just
gets it right. The nice build quality doesn't hurt matters
either.

Similar Products Used:

NYAL Minuet, Joule LA100, VTL Ultimate

Dynamic musical and transparent

This is one of the best value-for-money preamp anyone could get in the used-eqpt market. One of the most noticeable characteristic of the LS3 is that it gives rythm to the music. It sets my foot tapping and I greatly enjoyed the LS3 with the Sunfire amp; they were an awesome combination and I could just feel the power oozing out from them.

The LS3 is excellent for all kinds of music, be it jazz or classical. I have compared it with the higher-priced CJ PV10 & PV12 but preferred the LS3 because of its transparency. It just play the music without adding any signiture of its own.

Last but not least, I love the LS3 because it is well built, have a good reputation and does not burnt a hole in my pocket.

Similar Products Used:

LS9

Clarity,

Captive mains lead. Industrial looks.

Compared to the LS8 there isn't any comparison, no mucking about with valves, altering this aspect and that aspect of the sound. ( take a look at the LS8 reviews to see what I mean! ) The sound we want is totally subjective, the gear we use must be able to play the type of music we like to hear as we want to hear it, so what I have to say could well be utter rubbish to another listeners ears.
I wasn't planning on buying this preamp, I was after something cheaper for my bedroom system, but cheekily I asked for an audition, the sound was just right.I won't mess about using all fancy words to try to explain what I'm hearing. I'll sum it up with one word. CLARITY. I dare say if one spends more money a better sound should be heard, but for my money its all I'll ever need, plus in twelve months time I haven't got to buy new valves.And to think, a year ago I'd have laughed in your face if you told me I would own a solid state amp. Fact is to my ears and for the money it cost its brill.

Similar Products Used:

A.R.C. LS8. Counterpoint.

TUBEY CLASS A SOUND BEST SOLID STATE ARC MADE.

NO TUBESBANG FOR THE BUCK CAN'T BE MATCHED

BANG FOR THE BUCK, CAN'T BE MATCHED .SMOOTHER AND MORE DETAILED THAN THE LS 7,BEATS PRE -AMPS COSTING TWICE THE PRICE.I AGREE WITH STEREOPHILE'S CLASS A RATING.FOR THE PERSON COMMENTING ABOUT THE POWER SWITCH,"IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE LEFT ON STANDBY ALL THE TIME. IT'S NOT A TUBE DESIGN THAT YOU TURN ON AND OFF. SOLID STATE ALWAYS SOUNDS BETTER WHEN LEFT ON, IT GIVES THE CIRCUTS A CHANCE TO FULLY STABALIZE. MY LS 3 IS NEVER TURNED OFF.DOWN THE ROAD I HOPE TO REPLACE THIS PRE AMP WITH THE EXCELLANT SOUNDING LS 25,
IT SHOULD MAKE MY VAC TUBE AMP SOUND EVEN BETTER.THE LS
SOUND STAGE IS WIDE AND DEEP,IT'S SMOOTH,AND DETAILED. THERE IS NO GRAIN OR DARKNESS TO THIS PRE AMP.I HAVE HAD THIS PRE AMP FOR 3-4 YEARS. I HAVE CHANGED A LOT OF MY SYSTEM BUT THE LS 3 REMAINS.THE BETTER THE COMPONENTS GET .THE BETTER IT SOUNDS.

clarity, neutrality, focus, big soundstage, dynamic

can't find any (at least at the time of review)

I was surprised how much I missed in music until I hooked up this equipment.

An audiophile friend of mine (thanks Chris) was uprading to Krell KRC-3 so he sold to me his AR LS-3. It was like looking into a new audio landscape the moment I fired it up! My CJ MF2300A has a warm and smooth characteristic to it, so the clarity, dynamics and neutrality of the LS-3 is just the right match I was looking for! Very musical.

I noticed a further improvement in sound in terms of clarity, detail & treble sweetness when I switch to DIRECT input (perhaps because it bypases the rest of the circuitry other than volume & mute controls).

My listening room is critically small, but the soundstage presented by the LS-3 seemed to go beyond wall boundaries, behind and to the sides. I have yet to identify any weakness - if there is ;-). Build quality is not the best there is, but with sound quality at this price, who cares??

I give it five speakers!

I should have checked the reviews here before I bought. I paid $699 for mine, which has no remote option, and this is a year after the review which gave the $800-$1000 range, dependent upon the presence of the remote option. But on to the positives, which are many, superlative, and unanimous for the rest of this review. The LS-3 has a remarkable soundstage. Incredibly wide, very deep, incredibly detailed...the listener is transported to the performance venue that the sound engineer intended to portray. In a system in which it is mated to a SMcAudio modified McCormack DNA-1 Revision Level A amplifier and a pair of personally modified Infinity RS-9A Kappa speakers, there is incredible resolution. Every change in speaker cable and interconnect, good, bad, or tie, is heard as pronounced changes. Even the difference between a 1M pair of AudioTruth Diamond x2 interconnects when compared to a .5M pair of the same AudioTruth Diamond x2 interconnects is definite, however neglible the difference may be. And, like the reviewer who described rainbows of change, I notice pronounced changes in sound with 1/4" (0.25 inch) changes in speaker position. The difference is like hearing the same band on a different night when the coffee shop decided to accomodate a larger audience by moving some semi-permanent structures. I won't tell you about putting quarters on the speakers and components, because I'm not going to glue the darn things on at the optimal locations. The LS-3 has slam in the deep end and is quick and tight there as well. I hadn't realized the extent of the veiling that my former preamp, the McCormack ALD-1, in passive, direct mode was imposing upon my system in that area. I had always known that it was smearing the highs to some extent. But let's be fair here. The difference in the bottom end, especially, could be due to the low output of the DAC, the Muse Model 2 with the Bessel Analog Reconstruction Filter option. Comparing a passive preamp with an active one in this case can be unfair, even if the 1 volt outpupt should be more than enough for the remarkable ALD-1 Revision Level A. And I really hadn't noticed much of a lack in the bass region. Who knows? I've been really busy since the time that I added the LS-3 to my system. Perhaps I'll go to a live concert and wonder why there isn't enough bass! Until then, I will be happy with the image of a trumpeteer swinging his head with the music, getting different reverberant signatures from the room from his spot way over there...well, what would be way over there if the wall of the room were not there and if I really WAS listening in the performance venue while the Buena Vista Social Club was performing...

Everything including build quality

None

I found this used gem at a local hi-fi shop about 2 weeks ago and this is exactly what I was looking for in a preamp. I didn't realize how much I was missing in music until I put this preamp in my system. I am sure there are better preamps out there but you would have to spend quite a bit more money to get an appreciable improvement. This can be had on the used market for the price of a mid-fi preamp which makes it a downright bargain. Very dynamic, clean and clear sound overall and the build quality is excellent. Five stars.

Similar Products Used:

Carver CT-3

PRICE TO PERFORMANCE RATIO

COLORATION

THIS IS WHAT I BOUGHT TO DRIVE MY MONO TUBE HEADS AND KEPT IT FOR ABOUT 3 YEARS. FOUND THAT ONLY THE "DIRECT" INPUT WAS SUITABLE FOR CRITICAL LISTENING. THE SOUND "COLOR" OF THIS PREAMP IS "DARK". DEFINATELY "UN-SWEET" SOUNDING. NOT THAT THAT'S ALL BAD, BUT IT ABSOLUTELY HAS A TONAL COLORATION. I USED KIMBER SILVER .5 METER CABLES SO IT WASN'T THE CABLES ADDING COLORATION. I WAS CONVINCED THAT I WAS HEARING EVERYTHING ON THE CD, THOUGH, ALBIET "DARK AND BROODING". I WAS HAPPY WITH IT UNTIL I DID AN A-B TEST AGAINST ANOTHER QUALITY PREAMP ON MY GEAR.

I REPLACED IT WITH A MACINTOSH 4000 PREAMP WHICH IS CLEANER ON ALL INPUTS, I.E, DOESN'T NEED A "DIRECT" INPUT, SWEETER SOUNDING AND ALOT MORE EXPENSIVE. THE LS3 SEEMED VERY SENSITIVE TO VIBRATIONS, TOO (ALL THIS TALK ABOUT BUILD QUALITY- WHAT BUILD QUALITY? THE THING WEIGHS 8 LBS!). THE LS3 IS OVER-PRICED AND OVER-RATED FOR WHAT IT DOES. IF YOU GET ONE, BUY SOME TWEAKS TO ENHANCE ITS PERFORMANCE.