ARC LS-27 or ARC ref-3

This is puzzling - according to a review in AS, Valin mentioned that he thought the differences between the REF3 and REF 5 were tiny,though he thought the 5 was an improvement (that the 40 anniv really gave him a good feel for the improvments). If the change (or improvement) is slight between the 3 and 5, how slight is the difference between the 27 and 3?

I have heard the ref 3 and LS 26, not in comparison but in seperate systems. Have not heard the 27 or ref5.

As an owner of a low hours LS-26 I too have considered which would be the right move to make and canvassed the opinion of someone who reviewed the LS-27 and as I do not have his permission (because I haven't yet asked) to post his comments he will remain anonymous. His comments were:

"I have used the Ref 3 but not in a very long time. I do recall comparing it to the LS-26 back in the day and thought the 26 was awfully close. But I did not have one handy to make a direct comparison to the 27. If I was making a choice between a Ref 3 and a 27 I would go for the 27. I do note that AR claims the 27 betters the 3. I can't confirm what is obviously marketing but it is not inconsistent with what I hear and recall."

I also spoke to someone @ ARC and their opinion was to make the jump to the LS-27 Vs a used Ref 3 but I temper, but do not totally discount, that with the fact my buying a used unit doesn't necessarily impact their balance sheet in a positive manner.

Having recently acquired new speakers this matter has taken a back seat in my audio upgrade path and I recently purchased some NOS 6H-30DR tubes for my LS-26 as a stop gap measure which I have yet to install...

Since Valin alludes to all new ARC preamps coming (yet again), I would wait.

I have listened to REF 3,REF 5 ,LS 26 And LS 27.
In my opinion REF 5 is much better than REF 3(I owned and sold 3 = 1 new and 2 used as recently as 3 wks ago.
I tried to like REF 3 but after extensive listening I decided that both REF 5 and LS 27 are much better( the latter has convenient output selection).
Right now I have Burmester 099(great solid state with dac)and LS 27 and I am trying to figure out which piece is staying(listed both at cheap price).
My amplifier is Ayre and speakers Dynaudio with Kimber and Audioquest cables.
LS 26 is also very good piece as is LS 16 mark II.
Never liked LS 25 I or II which are selling for 2500 plus.

I have to agree with Pawel8. I owned a ref3 and now a ref5, and the difference is pretty large. The 5 is much more rhythmic, and musical. When I saw that review implying the differences were minor, and knowing that they were actually quite large, I just had a lot of qestions about the review...