Actually, slim is set forth above. I will add that the Ref 3 throws a huge, deep, wide soundstage. However, the downside is that instruments that shouldn't take up much space (eg oboe, James Taylor's acoustic guitar in relation to his voice) sometimes are not portrayed in proper proportion. Another upside to the drama is great tone color and texture. The Mac, on the other hand, was so pure, natural and neutral, I could not resist. Your taste may vary. Also, if ur into phono, the Mac stage is as remarkable as the rest of the package, much better than the 2200 pre phono stage which was merely above average.
