Has anyone heard the Ref 3?

Looking forward to 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.

You will find that much to your amazement the sound will muddy down for the next 100 hours or so. Typically ARC gear sounds terrific out of the box and then needs a break in.

I owned a Ref 2 Mk ll and now the Ref 3 and IMO the Ref 3 is the finest preamp that I have ever owned

Congradulations on your new Ref 3. I second Oneobgyn's statement, it is also the best preamp that I have owned.
Out of curiosity, did it come with the 6550 tube? I only ask because my experimenting with it seemed so much different then Oneobgyn's. I felt it degraded the sound, my dealer felt that it didn't change the sound, and Oneobgyn felt that it was a significant improvement. I am tempted to send the tube back in exchange for another, or at least have ARC test it and make sure it wasn't a bad tube.

Agaffer, does your ref 3 also sport the bypass caps upgrade? It is my understanding that the 'factory rolling update' includes both caps and power supply tube.