Audio Research Ref. 3, Ref. 5, or the Ref. 5se.

Wlutke ... as a former owner of the Ref 3, let me go on record that I think and always thought it was a terrific linestage ... no qualifications.  I think the Ref 3 **IS** a bargain and it still holds its value on the preowned market.  There are (were) a couple of Ref 3s for sale on A'gon in the $5K range and they are, as stated, holding their value.      

There is a REF 3 at the ARC dealer in WA DC for $5k.....

Russ ... as I said above, the Ref 3 is a fine linestage ... no quibbles there.  That said, if you can stretch for the bucks, I think the Ref 5 SE is better ... that's all.

I could not pass up the deal I received on a new inbox Ref 5SE. If you do buy the Ref 3 you will most likely be happy but still have that "what if I had bought  the Ref 5SE" question in the back of your mind. It sounds like in your heart you want to buy the Ref 5SE? It has made a huge improvement in my system. The layers in the soundstaging along with amazing imaging all over the place. Instruments and voices are floating in space. The better the recording the more it flushes out. My unit has started to really give that 3 dimensional stage after 400 hours on it. The bass is very powerful and dynamic yet articulate when defining those instruments both acoustic and electric. I have always wanted a tube preamp and the Ref 5SE is the one. Not really liking the cosmetics of the Ref 6 preamp.