Audio Research Ref. 3, Ref. 5, or the Ref. 5se.

ARC REF 6 priced at $14,000, a $1000 increase over the 5SE. With the early reports coming in so positively an upcharge of 1k seems reasonable, at least in that context.

Any new news on the ARC preamps? 

I do not currently own any tube gear in my main stereo (living room). I do have a little tube integrated in my bedroom though. I have been curious about tube gear for a couple years now after having been a solid state guy my whole life. 

I finally broke the other day and bought a ARC Ref 3 and will be pairing it with my Parasound A21 and Marantz SA15S2 CDP and Klipsch Palladium P38s. Unfortunately, I will not be able to switch out pre amps (current is Parasound JC2-BP) until we reorganize our living room in a couple months.

The amp should be here in two days. It is going to drive me crazy to have it and not be able to use it yet. I am really looking forward to hearing this new to me pre. I always hear great things about this amp. 

I just bought a used ARC Ref5 SE! The improvement from my previous LS17SE is great especially the balanced in for my home theatre setup. Concert sounded so good now!

The used preamp stated about 2600 hours of usage. I read about tube life for Ref5SE, the 6h30p tubes for the preamp part can last 4000 hours while the tubes for the power supply part can only last 2000 hours... does it meant that I should change the tubes already?

I was thinking of ordering a set of tubes from tube store... there are 3 options... Original, Premium and Ultimate Package. Original cost $185.70, Premium ( Electro-Harmonix 6H30Pi Gold) cost $209.70. The Ultimate (Reflector 6H30p-DR) cost $1609.70... more than 8 x the price of original tubes!

Should I change the tube now and which tube package should I go for?

Thanks for the Advice!

Anyone hear any comparisons - Arc Ref 5SE to the PS audio signature preamp?