ARC ls26 vs.SF Line-3/se

Chris at PCX is a salesman, just as he was as president of Sonic Frontiers, and he knows how to do it well.

Frankly, it gets tiring to hear defensive outcrys from SF groupies.

Fact in point, ARC (William Johnson, among his other designers) are veteran electronic engineers, unlike SF, which was just a company started by a couple enterprising individuals who farmed out the design of their circuits to engineers of no particular great talent. Some good reviews by Dick Olsher and others at Stereophile catapulted them to a position loftier than deserved. My take? Too many audiophiles with limited musical discernment boast of the supposed sonic superiorities of what are, at best, mediocre pieces.

To call the Power 2/3 superior to the VT100/200 is simply ludicruous. Neither are the ARC pieces top flight in sonics. It's just that the Power 2/3 are less so.

Saxo at it's best again. Not stating any facts but just what he "heard" or "believed".

Take a quote from someone who has no financial interest in either ARC or SF gears, but respectable for his hearing and ability to pick out good gears. I won't say his name, but he imported EMM Labs and Dartzeel. He openly stated on Audiogon discussion forum SF Power 2 is better than ARC VT-100. Again, not my word, but I do agree with him.

Just keep in mind all stereo gears are tuned to please one certain market but not everyone, otherwise there will not be a need for hundreds of speaker manufactures out there. But calling a manufacture bad without any facts is plain wrong. I am sure there are lots of veterans out there who thinks highly of SF gears, you just called them deaf. Now show us your credential before everyone recognizes you as a cry baby.

I'll try it again..I'm thinking of changing PREAMPS.SFl-3 to a ARC ls-26.Is this a upgrade or a lateral move..Thanks

I think what everyone tried to tell you is it is a lateral move at best. SF L3SE is a reference piece and still competes with the best today, comes down to what sound do you like. there is no two gears that sound alike and saying which one is better is more personal preference than anything else. If you do change, you might like the change for the next few months because it's new, different, and better in some area.

To better your L3SE, you need something like CJ ART II, Lyra, or something in that caliber.

Maybe your right Semi.If people are comparing my preamp to a ARC ref-3 maybe this would be a dumb move..