Audio Research ref3, vtl 7.5 vs FS paramount MKII


Has anybody ever compared Audio Research Ref 3 or Vtl 7.5 against First sound Paramount MKII? I leave in Europe and there are no First sound distributors therefore, I have never had the opportunity to test it myself.
My amp is an Accuphase A60, cpd Audio Aero 192mkII and Harbeth monitor 30 as speakers.

Can anybody help me please?

Thanks
salvo

Showing 3 responses by elberoth2

A friend of mine, who also has Accu A60 (although he uses two of them bridged) auditioned several preamps in his system, and went with Ref 3.
Marco_esposito - 2800h is indeed a bit too much for the 6550 in Ref 3.

If you are about to change 6550 tube, I would strongly suggest trying NOS TungSol 6550 tube. The improvement is very substantial. It brought my Ref 3 to another level sonicly. There is a thread on this topic:

ARC Ref 3: Tung-Sol 6550 in power supply?
I got mine for $200 from Andy from Vintage Tube Services.

Tube World also carries them, although they went considerably up in price recently.