I am not a big fan of the LS27. In my system the LS27 sounded thin and lacked life. Yes it is better than the LS25 mk1 in a lot of ways. But it is not a preamp I could live with long term. Not in the system I had at the time anyway. When I bought my Ref 5se I still owned my SL3s. So all my preamp comparisons were with the SL3s and not my current Elipsa SEs. Have you noticed how the Ref 150 sounds fuller, more organic than the VT100? It does with the mk3 anyway. I never spent a lot of time with a mk2. The LS27 sounded the same way to me. While the sound was more detailed, it lacked the magic In a lot of ways I preferred the sound of my old V70 to the VT100 mk3.
A Ref 5se is worth waiting for. One will come up. ARC made some good pieces. But then there are some that are truly great The Ref 5se is truly great. The difference between the LS27 or even the Ref 5 is huge. It is a keeper.
Have you played around with power cords? I found that the right power cord can also make a big difference. The Ref 5se has a 20 amp socket so I also had to replace my power cord. I really like Shunyata cords with Audio Research.
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