what ARC combo- Ref 1/Ref 110 or Ref 3/VT 100 MK3?

i'll go for a "better" preamp. so Ref3/VT100 mk3.

just my guess.

You may also consider the LS26 Ref 110 combo.The 26 is really close in performance to the Ref 3 and the 110 is much better than VT100mkIII.That's my opinion anyway.

I second what audphile states (had ls15, ls25Mk I and II, and Ref1, and a VT 100mkII) and given above pairings, as Kschiu says, the Ref3 -> VT100MKIII would sound superb into the same speakers (assume either speaker can be drive effectively by ~100 watts push/pull 6550 quads), and better overall sound than REF1 -> Ref 110, just mho.

...Dave Mitchell this is one for you!

thanks for all the comments so far- looks like the preference is to put more $$ into the preamp than the amp

Get the Ref3 no matter what....you can always upgrade the amp. The Ref3 is a monster.