Has anyone heard the Ref 3?


Just curious if anyone has had the opportunity to copare Audio Research's new Ref 3 preamp with the older Ref 1 or Ref 2 or even LS 25 Mk II.
kinsekd
Well all this is subjective but one test I did was run my Lamm phono stage directly to my Lamm amp to hear what the L2 was doing to the sound. From what I can tell, the L2 was quite neutral.
we should have another a/b test then to give it a second chance.

You attributed the lack of performance that day to the type of cabling used?
One XLR was bad causing one channel to be muffled and muted. For a long time, I could not understand why my system imaged poorly. One day I played a mono record and noticed one channel was louder and clearer sounding. After a lengthy troubleshooting process, I discovered it was the bad cable. I dont know if you'll like the L2 more than the Ref 3 but I think you'll have a better impression of it.
The Ref 3 came in yesterday. Got it unpacked, tubed, and hooked it up last night. At least to the Ref Phono.

Right out of the box, it blew the ARC LS 25 mk ii away. There is so much more acoustical information on all the instruments. And so much air around each. The timbral accuracy is uncanny. Can't wait to get it fully broken in.