My opinion is ARC is better with Stads as the Strads tend toward sweetness and don't need more. ARC is not sweet, but bloomy in the midrange. ARC is no longer slightly harsh and whitish in tone in the upper mids as it was known to be perhaps a decade or so ago.
Of course now that ARC and SF are under the same ownership (I am told that ARC now uses SF, among others, in its listening rooms), the synergies may increase.
That being said, Conrad Johnson makes great gear as well and has moved away from its thick, velvety, golden hued midrange of old (which came with a lack of extension in the frequency range) to become quite neutral and extended. Its close. Neither will disappoint.
Of course now that ARC and SF are under the same ownership (I am told that ARC now uses SF, among others, in its listening rooms), the synergies may increase.
That being said, Conrad Johnson makes great gear as well and has moved away from its thick, velvety, golden hued midrange of old (which came with a lack of extension in the frequency range) to become quite neutral and extended. Its close. Neither will disappoint.