ARC REF 3 or MBL 5011 - what is better buy?


Hello, I have the opportunity to buy MBL 5011 and ARC REF 3 for a great price. I cannot demo or audition them so I would like to get the opinion of the people who have/had/tried them in their systems. My listening preferences are jazz, classical (orchestra, chamber or solo piano) music. The rest o my system:

Esoteric x-3se cdp
Plinius sb301 amp
Egglestone Andra II speakers
Stealth Metacarbon Ics (RCA)
Stealth Dream Petite (bi-wired) speaker cables

Any advice is highly appreciated. Please do not bother with recommendations to demo/audition them because it is out of the possibility.
denon1

Showing 1 response by audioconnection

{{{As for now, I’m leaning towards ARC REF 3. The only thing that stops me from buying it the opinion of the Audiogon member( Guidocorona ) who seem reviewer for TAS and respected here on the AudioGon. He is stating on several occasions that Jeff Rowland Capri sounds close if not better (for him of course) than ARC REF 3. When I read that $3000 unit sounds as good or better than $10000 unit it make me confused at least and make me to go on another round of evaluations.}}
I used to be a Plinius dealer and the ARC Ref 3 worked very well with the Plinius amps either a 26 or a Ref 3 would be a great pairing
Rowland gear has always matched up best with their own matching units as they were designed to do
I believe guido when he hears this fine pairing with the Rowland gear.
I wouldn't let it confuse your situation as the Plinius ARC is a different interface.
Best John