Audio Research is continuing its 50th anniversary celebrations with the launch of the LS28SE preamplifier, which brings performance improvements over the 2016-launched LS28 it replaces.
The new, special edition LS28SE ($10,000 / €11,500 / about AU$14,200) is, like its predecessor, a line stage (i.e. phono stage-less) preamp, and benefits from the engineering cues learned during the recent creation of Audio Research’s Reference 160 Series amplifiers. The brand has swapped out several wires and components for superior-quality replacements that it says “elevate[s] the LS28SE’s performance to an entirely new level”. This includes upgrading to the same proprietary gold coupling caps used in the Reference 6SE amp that was released late last year.
At the LS28SE's heart is the original models’s vacuum tube analogue design. It has eight pairs of inputs (four balanced XLRs, four unbalanced RCAs), as well as three pairs of outputs – two XLRs, two unbalanced RCA and recording outputs.
The Audio Research LS28SE will begin shipping later this month, and as of July LS28 owners will be able to upgrade to the LS28SE for $2000 / €2500 (about AU$2850).
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