Hi Handymann,
My experiences. I was a longtime owner of an ARC PH 3 SE and enjoyed it very much. At one point rather than upgrade to another phono stage I chose to have it upgraded and modified by the Great Northern Sound Company (a service they no longer offer)and outfitted it with NOS tubes. This decision was partially made by limited audition possibilities of phono stages and the fact that I liked the sound I was hearing. The results were what I hoped for. This then lasted me for almost 9 years. When the PH 5 came out I borrowed it for an audition as a possibility and I just did not prefer over my PH 3. However I did borrow the PH 7 on three different occasion from my dealer when I was considering upgrading my phone stage again and each time I borrowed it, I always preffered it over mine. I felt that it was a definite step up and bettered my phono stage. Take this with a grain of salt as these were my impressions in my system. Only an audition will let you know if it works for you. Just wanted to let you know that if you do like the PH 3 SE and are considering upgrading at some point then the PH 7 is worth an audition in my opinion.
My experiences. I was a longtime owner of an ARC PH 3 SE and enjoyed it very much. At one point rather than upgrade to another phono stage I chose to have it upgraded and modified by the Great Northern Sound Company (a service they no longer offer)and outfitted it with NOS tubes. This decision was partially made by limited audition possibilities of phono stages and the fact that I liked the sound I was hearing. The results were what I hoped for. This then lasted me for almost 9 years. When the PH 5 came out I borrowed it for an audition as a possibility and I just did not prefer over my PH 3. However I did borrow the PH 7 on three different occasion from my dealer when I was considering upgrading my phone stage again and each time I borrowed it, I always preffered it over mine. I felt that it was a definite step up and bettered my phono stage. Take this with a grain of salt as these were my impressions in my system. Only an audition will let you know if it works for you. Just wanted to let you know that if you do like the PH 3 SE and are considering upgrading at some point then the PH 7 is worth an audition in my opinion.