ARC VT 100: MkII vs. MkIII?

The Mk3 adds a switch for bal/single ended, 12V power on/off trigger. Internally, it now has JFET for input, followed by a 6H30 driver/gain, and a 6H30 follower driving the 6550Cs. There are now four internal bias instead of two. The upgrade will set us back 1895 from Mk2 and 2695 from Mk1. I do not know how different the sound would be from the Mk2. BAT has been using this tube in their preamps for over a year now. Why ARCs moving away from 6922 for their new design? Could REF 3 preamp replace REF 2 next year to correct the tubey sound of REF 2? Oh! well.....

Hey, I agree with Djbaudio. spend you money wisely. If your current ARC equipment bring you happiness then don't rush into the upgrade. System matching is everything in this hobby. ARC has a history of putting out tons of upgrades. Just go to their website and look at the upgrade page. How does one determine that an upgrade actually sounds better than the old version? - depends on your taste - Shortly after the REF 1 was introduced, there was an upgrade to it, replacing some old caps with infini caps. Nothing changed in the circuit topology, just upgrade to infini caps. Why ARC did not use the inifin caps right from the start is a mistery to me. Now, REF 2 uses tube power supply and it sounds warmer??????? If you already have a warm sounding system, would you change to REF 2? I think not.