AR ref2 mk1 or ref 3

Since you have gotten no responses to your query, I will give you some "hearsay" input.

My friend, who has the ARC ref. 2 (mk 1, I think) did a home demo of the Ref. 3. He said it was a definite improvement over his ref. 2. He said that when the ref. 3 comes down in price, that he will sell his in order to buy it. (However, he said that currently, even used, it was too much to justify the improvement.)

FYI: My friend has very good ears in regard to listening for sonic improvements from equipment changes (I guess that comes from buying and selling a fair amount of gear over the last few years!), so I trust his judgement.

Remember though, advice is only worth what you pay for it!
You can mail me the check for the advice! :-)

Good Luck!

I now own and Ref3 and previously auditioned the Ref2, MkII. The Ref3 is much better than the earlier models, especially in terms of bass control and more extended treble.

I have owned all of the AR Reference preamps and the Ref3 is by far the best of the bunch. All of them are excellent and are well worth the money. Even at $10k, the Ref3 is money well spent...you won't regret it.

I still have a Ref2 mk2 in my second system.