Has anybody heard the new Audio Research LS 27?

Open the case of the LS27 and compare it to the Ref 5 and Ref 3 and judge whether the LS27 is that similar to either. I bought a used Ref 3 instead of a new LS27 after comparing the two. ARC has fans and detractors and because they have been around so long they have a lot of both, something not that common in high end audio.

Djcxxx - What led you to go Ref3 vs the LS27?

Thanks!
Mike

Ref 3 is introduced in 2004 and discontinued in 2008. It is not unusual for the same company to produce a better product like LS27 7 years later and cost $3000 less.

Why don't we hear somebody who have actually listened to the LS 27 and tell us what are their impression?

The underlying assumption here is that the Ref 5 is an order of magnitude improvement over the Ref 3. It's is not, IMHO. The marketing angle is that since the Ref 5 is a major improvement over the Ref 3, then the LS27 must be at least as good as the Ref 3. I don't believe that listening bears that out. Compared to the LS27 the Ref 3 had more inner detail and transparency. The soundstage was also more "fleshed out". Money is also important. I bought a mint low hours Ref 3 from an ARC authorized dealer for $5200. How much is that new LS27 again?? Why buy a $7K "almost Ref3" when you can purchase the genuine article for less money?

An almost brand new LS27 is already selling for $5,700 on A'gon. So an used LS27 will be cheaper than an used Ref 3, but the question is whether or not the new LS 27 sounds overall better than its 7 years old designed ref 3?