REF 3 In My System?

By ARC on their website.

Of coarse ARC , there are trying to sell LS27's not the discontinued REF 3 . I've heard both back to back in a familiar system , have you ?

Tmsorosk - Would you please share your impressions of the LS27 vs the REF 3 in the back to back listening session you experienced?

Yes I would really like to hear Tmsorosk's review. I have been told by ARC that the LS27 is better but the REF 3 is more affordable. So if you can provide what speakers, amps, source etc. It may be some time before we hear from the industry magazines on the LS27.

Sure . We felt the REF 3 had a rounder, fuller sound , some might say better coherence , the 27 seemed to have better depth but not better image specificity . The REF 3 also had more of that liquid presentation that tube lovers obsess over , I felt the 3 also had slightly better low frequency extension , but the other four club members were less sure of that aspect . On that note i should mention that one of the five of us preferred the 27 . You might say the 27 had a more solid state feel . It's kind of what you would expect from ARC , a more modern tube preamp with less tube sound , it seems thats the way ARC has been progressing for several generations now . Now lets not blow the differences out of proportion , the two were very similar and these differences were small . Both were excellent . You could say I was biased as I did own the 3 for about three years . I hope this adds more light than confusion . Regards Tim