Audio Research Ref 6 SE

Frankly, I am pleasantly surprised. My take (rightly or wrongly) is that Mr. Wasserman must sell a lot of ARC gear such that the folks at ARC could not say "no". 
I love my Ref 6 and Ref 150SE combination. I paid full boat for each three years ago. I will not be spending $3000 to upgrade. I have no doubt that the SE will sound both different and better. How much different and how much better will vary among listeners. Whether the $3,000 is a value play will also differ among each owner. I invested long green on Cardas Clear Beyond XLR's to connect the two after experimenting and finding ARC's recommendation to buy the very best XLR's one could afford very true. 
My own personal situation is that my loudspeakers and listening room (combined) are a much greater impediment to better sound than any incremental difference there might be between the Ref 6 and Ref 6 SE. ARC's price structure for both new equipment and accessories (e.g. replacement tubes) is on the very high side. They have always positioned themselves as a barely affordable luxury brand compared to the likes of Lamm and CH Precision. I sense the same applies to their upgrades. This is just pure conjecture, but I think ARC is charging $3K to do changes that someone like, say for example, Mike Sanders at Quicksilver would charge $1000 for doing. They don't give existing owners breaks on upgrades. 
And further, the Ref 6 SE will then be eclipsed in 2-3 years by a Ref 7. 
I have reached a point in my personal audio journey where I feel content and don't have to have the latest/greatest. I hope it sticks. 

The question that I always have is this...how many times is a so called ’upgrade’ truly what it purports to be? If we are to believe everyone in this industry, all upgrades are always a step forward...yet IME, that has not always been the case. OTOH, how often have we heard that the upgrade is in fact...a downgrade in SQ!

Glad it worked out

I would also agree with 9rw.1992 seems to be a magical year because this also was the year that I obtained  my first ARC product.As far as their reliability is concerned I have only had one failure due to  the product.That was a blown rectifier diode on my D400mkII and it cost $75 to repair.(1998) I recently did something really dumb and shorted a triac out  while cleaning my Ref tube amp with it plugged in but switch off.I shipped it to ARC and when they got it they emailed me and told me they did not think the box would make the return back (110 miles) and promptly added $230 to my bill.I sent them a nasty email saying there was nothing wrong with the box.I never got a response. They later claimed  that the email was automatically sent and they did not see my email until later.My point-$130/hr,really inflated repair part and tube prices.and 5 weeks wait time. In spite of this I am still an ARC user and co-dependant and if I buy another pre or power amp(used of course) it will probably be ARC but I hope I will never have to have have it serviced. P.S. ARC did give me the option of picking the amp up at the factory to save the cost of a new box and I took them up on the offer and also saved about $70 on shipping.

If you've assembled a system with offsetting products, like a warm speaker with bright cables, then you might have bad results when you choose a replacement in that system.
Upgrades need to slap you in the face for the better, or don't spend the money! 
Most equipment gets better over time, it's something we live with. I'll bet the SE is better. The 7 will probably be even better in a few years. In the meantime I will go home, enjoy some music, and relax, whatever is in my system.
Good to hear that Stereo Exchange took care of you.