You can't go wrong with the ARC. I have the Ayre V-5xe with the ARC Ref3. No complaints. I'm curious also if the Ayre pre could be a better combo. Hoping not. I have the Vandersteen 3A sigs.
at this level of performance, you will want to audition the Ayre & ARC pre-amps for sure. Ultimately, if you like the ARC Ref 5, go ahead, and spring for the Ref 5 SE model. Clearly, there is a substantial difference in sound between the Ref 3, Ref 5 and Ref 5 SE.
Most importantly, which brand(s) of cabling do you plan to use in this system? Keep me posted & Happy Listening!
I use Ayre and Vandersteen. Personally, I would prefer an Ayre preamp.
"Most importantly, which brand(s) of cabling do you plan to use in this system? Keep me posted & Happy Listening!"
Why would that be more important than selecting a preamp? Maybe if you messed up and now have to fix a mistake, but in this case, it doesn't appear that the OP is making a poor choice either way. If you match your components properly, cable selection is easy.
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