ARC VT-100MKII to MKIII, upgrade worth the cost?

I agree with Markxiii. I would add that the upgrade from MarkII to MarkIII is not nearly so dramatic as the upgrade from MarkI to MarkII. The presentation is a bit dryer and the breakin period is fairly long. YMMV.

One thing you do get with the MarkIII is a 12 volt trigger. This allows you to interconnect certain Audio Research preamps with the amp and to use the preamp remote to turn both the preamp and amp on or off.

It's also my understanding that the tubes are supposed to be longer lived and more reliable.

If you do decide to do the upgrade, summer time is the best time of the year turnaround time wise. The guys and gals at the AR plant aren't quite as busy.

Thank you for your feedback. Leonard at ARC told me the sound is fuller with MK III. Do you find it to be true? MK II sounds very good but a little light weight to my taste. Also, they charge a fortune for retubing and financially it almost makes more sense to upgrade., unless I go for tubes from other retailers.
Any thoughts?

Based on my experience, the Mk II version is actually fuller and more fleshed out then Mk III. To me Mk III was simply too dry and cold. The differences are subtle and I could easily live with any of them, but if I had to chose, I would go for Mk II.
I recently retubed mine with new 6550's and I'm glad I didn't order my tubes from ARC. The price they charge is simply ridiculous. For $200 you can get a tightly matched octet of Svetlana 6550s (same as ARC uses) from at least two reputable online tube dealers. The 6dj8/6992s are not expensive either and remember that they will last much longer than 2000 hours the 6550s are rated for.

I noticed a significant improvement when I rolled the tubes in my ARC VT100mkII, but it was no walk in the park. Replacing the power tubes was simple enough. I would definitely recommend the Svetlana KT88s over the stock Svetlana 6550s: they will provide you true tube warmth and liquidity. For about $500 more you can buy premium tubes, but you need two matched quads and replacements may be difficult to find. Thetubestore.com will sell you the matched number-coded Svetlana KT88s, so buying replacements is not a problem.
When I tried to roll the four pairs of driver tubes, I blew up one hell of tubes and resisters. Chris at Audio Research told me I should not attempt to replace the "stand alone" pair of Sovtek 6922s located physically towards the amp's front end with any other brand, as the amp cannot be properly biased without them. But I had already found a tube that would perform in that position and not blow stuff up -- the Mullard CV5358. And I had done enough experimenting to know I didn't want the Sovteks, which in that position really limited what the amp could do. Bought the Mullards NOS from Michael Wharton at Brit Audio. While the amp can be biased around the Mullards, and their huge soundstage is a big improvement over the Sovtek's rather lifeless image, they are lush to the point of sounding mushy. Matching them with three pair of relatively clincal/analytic sounding Amperex 6DJ8s (orange globe logo, Holland, steel pins) did the trick.

I love my Mk-III but wish I'd gone for an LS-25 Mk-II and a good solid state amp (Bryston 4B-SST, Gamut, etc.). Yes the $850 retubing charge seems like highway robbery! It's Upscale Audio for me next time around!