McIntosh C1000 tube pre vs. ARC Ref 3?

Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity of auditioning a C1000, and I am not inclined to comment on products that I do not know. On the other hand, I have auditioned at length the ARC Ref 3, and ended up purchasing it. I compared directly against VAC Sig, VAC Ren II, Aesthetix Callisto Sig with single PS and all NOS tubes. Compared it indirectly also against ARC Ref 2 Mk. 2 and BAT VK51SE. In all these cases I liked better the Ref 3. Out of these the Callisto was perhaps the closest. In more recent times I have auditioned at some length the VTL 6.5 version 2 which I enjoyed immensely and the Rowland Concerto pre, which I also loved. Unfortunately I have not been lucky enough to compare these last two with Ref 3 during my selection process.
You can read some of my selection criteria and detailed findings at:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1123254379&openusid&zzGuidocorona&4&5#Guidocorona

"At least I admitted not hearing the Ref 3. That's probably more than
most of you would have done"

Really? Do you Hantrax have priviledged knowledged of what I or anyone else has heard. . . Or may this be a minor case of Messianic fixation?

Sad reality is that you seem to be as qualified as I am in drawing a direct comparison between the two units. . . which is not qualified at all. . . i.e. I know Ref 3 very well, but C1000 not at all, thus I won't be caught dead commenting on the prowess of the latter. Yes, I do admit of having heard other McIntosh linestages Over the years. . . but that is not at all relevant, as none of them were a C1000.

Sparkster, for a touch of added warmth you may want to vary the cable configuration rather than switching electronic components. Try for example a length of Purist Anniversary between the CDp and your linestage.

Hi Peter, could you give us some more detailed comparative findings? Unfortunately the terms 'better/worse' mean different things to different people. Please let us know how the two unit differed in several areas, and what made you prefer one unit over the other.