Analytical with lots of details. Open and airy. Good tight bass. Superb parts.

Not the average warm sounding tube pre-amp that some people might prefer in a tube amp.

Following the suggestions of other users here and the audio asylum, I changed out the std Sovteks with Siemens E88CC/6922 (for position V1 and V2) and Amperex Bugle Boy (V3 and V4). The result was excellent, and I got much more detail and air, plus fuller bass. Amperex in positions V1 and V2 sounded too cold and hard.

remote control

J own the ARC LS8 MKII, that is the upgrade of LS8. It is a splendid music machine.Musically j think that it's very difficult ear differences with the ARC LS15. instead j have listened the ARC LS16 and in this case there is difference.
However j reccomande this preamp very hotly. After many days of burn-in the ARC sound comes out in all its freshness and clarity.The bass register is solid but not intrusive.The voices are reproduced with great elegance.it needs great partners, power amplifiers solid state like copland csa515 or ARC VT100 and digital sources like Marantz CD7 or CD 14. very good this MKII .

I have used the LS8 for about one year. When I first brough this amp., I am disappointing with the sound. The sound like a solid amp.. When I change the tube to Amperex 6922, the sound change a lot. The sound is much better than before.

After a few months, I still not satisfy with the sound. Finally, I change the two 2uF wonder cap and two Rel cap to four 2uF Wonder Cap SETI series. The sound is more open and more transparency.

Before the upgrade, I rate LS8 about 4 points. After the upgrade. I rate it 4.8 points. Still got 0.2 points for me to improve.

I recently had the opportunity to audition ARC's new LS8 line preamp. Straight out-of-the-box I was somewhat unimpressed with the "entry-level" appearance and lack of features. After about 48 hrs. of burn-in in my system, my initial impressions were ameliorated. The sound was smooth and palpable in the midrange. The overall sound of this preamp was better than that of my now discontinued LS3. However, after some EXTENSIVE listening, I detected some midrange hardness and glare. Bass is somewhat "loose"too. Overall though, at entry level and with the right equipment, this is an OK preamp.I peersonally plan to purchase the twice as expensive LS15.

The LS8 has been in my system for approximately one year. Brand new, this ARC preamp sounds extremely harsh in the midrange and lower highs in a moderately resolving system (Micromega stage 5, Celeste 4250SE amplifier, Audioquest biwire Indigo, and Martin Logan SL3's). After a 100 hr break in period, the LS8 came alive. The midrange bloomed, soundstage depth and definition were very transparent, and the bass was tight if not overpowering. Much better than the LS7 on loan from the dealer. Acoustic instruments on well recorded CD's sounded as though they were in the listening room. The speed and attack of piano and flamenco guitar pieces were awe inspiring. Changing the interconnects from Dishwasher Goldends to Monster M550i brought out even more detail in the high and mid ranges. So much so that the sound became fatiguing at times. About a week ago the Sovtek 6922 were changed to NOS Siemens 6DJ8's. Two 6DJ8's as input drivers and Amperex 7308's as cathode followers. WOW! The bass is tight and and has the impact which was lacking with the Sovtek tubes. I now know that the Martin Logan SL3's are very well balanced and not lacking any bass punch which I thought was missing when this system was first set up. The midrange and highs have settled in as smooth as honey with even more low level detail than I had previously experienced. Highly Recommended!!!!!!!!!!

Nice product. Seems slightly lean in the lower mid and bass. Pleasingly so with my current spkrs. 1500 bucks not bad deal for this product. For this you get audio research quality and customer support. This is a bare bones product, no balanced connections and no remote. Not super tubey sounding preamp. No bloating in bass or mids. Clean and correct would be best way to describe this pre. I find it very difficult to say whether "neutral" or not. I would love to go to the LS25 one day but not possible at this point.

I have been listening to my ARC LS8 for about six months. When I first bought it it didn't perform as I expected. As Martin Colloms' review on March 99 Stereophile, this preamp did sound too "quiet", dry and dull; especially with solid state amps. However, after I had it connected to Cary 300SE, Signature mono-blocs it did sound a litter smooth yet was still lack of the refined midrange as the Cary magic. Recently I started my advanture of "rolling tubes" on my ARC LS8 which requiring four 6DJ8/6922. The LS8 came with its stocking Sovtec 6922 which I was told by the dealer that they were of superior quality. Well, ARC LS8 with Sovtec 6922 is definitely a "dispointed" product for me, but not with NOS tubes in it. I have tried various NOS tubes in it. Most of them are far better than Sovtec at aspects of transparency, extended yet smooth hights, extended and tight bass and more importantly, luscious mid range. I used two Sylvania 7308 as the cathode follwers at positon V3 and V4 and switched different NOS tubes as the drivers at V1 and V2. Here is the list of the NOS tubes I tried and their ratings from the best and down. Amperex ECC88 Bugle Boy (Holland), Amperex 6922 "D" getter (US), Amperex 6922 white lable (US), Siemens 7308 (Germany), Mullard ECC88 (Holland) and Sylvania 7308 and 6922. In my humble opinion, ARC LS8 is a great preamp, a stone cold bargain with unlimited potential.

I replaced my old LS-1 with the LS-8 after significant research, listening and discussion with the helpful folks at Audio Research. It appears that the major differences LS8 and the LS15 are (1) the remote control; and (2) some slightly beefier engineering in the output section. Leonard at AR told me that the essential preamp circuitry of the two is nearly the same, and that one might only hear any difference at all in extremely complex, difficult musical passages, for example demanding symphonic music. I have found the detail, staging and presence of the LS8 absolutely stunning, and for half the price of the LS15, I can skip the remote control. This is a real bargain in the Audio Research line. It is currently mated with a D115mk2, which I'm about to retube and rebias. I replaced the Sovteks that came with the LS8- it was a floor model- with Svetlana's and haven't discerned much difference.

This is a fantastic pre-amp, but you must be careful about matching up with the source equipment. I use a Theta Pearl CD transport and Theta ProGeny DAC. After I bought the LS8, I detected a definite 'clipping' sound on certain types of music. The dealer swapped it for an LS15 while the LS8 went to the lab for testing. The 'fault' disappeared after I hooked up the LS15, so my pre-amp must have been faulty, right? - wrong! To cut a long story short, the output of the DAC was overwhelming the input of the LS8, and I had to get the DAC output reduced by 6dB. The max output voltage of the DAC was over 4V, and the rated maximum input of the LS8 is considerably less, so beware! The LS15's rated maximum input is much higher than the LS8 which is why the 'fault' disappeared and I mistakenly thought the LS8 was sub-standard (sorry, ARC!) - so, that's another difference between this and the LS15.
Sonically, I think this is an outstanding pre-amp. I have to remind myself that there are four tubes inside this machine, because I just can't detect the warmth and bloom that so many people accuse tube pre-amps of possessing. Bearing in mind the caveat about matching with source equipment, I give this product a thoroughly well deserved five stars.