I can say that the PH3SE is a very nice piece of gear stock. I had one for quite a few years and was very happy with its performance. At one point i had it modded by GNSC (Black Gates in the power supply, Vcap teflon and Caddock resistors in the signal path and Amperex 7308 PQ white labels) and an additional set of input wired to a pair of Lundhals to boost the gain to 68db.
It took a while to break in but when it did; WOW. I sold it to a guy in Northern California a few years ago.
Now i have an ARC Ref Phono 2. Yes a remote is a nice feature to have (for me anyway). I have not heard all the other PH phonos ARC has put out over the years but i can certainly, without a show of a doubt, recommend the PH3SE to anyone looking for a "no frills" phono stage.
Put good NOS tubes in it and it will sing.
It took a while to break in but when it did; WOW. I sold it to a guy in Northern California a few years ago.
Now i have an ARC Ref Phono 2. Yes a remote is a nice feature to have (for me anyway). I have not heard all the other PH phonos ARC has put out over the years but i can certainly, without a show of a doubt, recommend the PH3SE to anyone looking for a "no frills" phono stage.
Put good NOS tubes in it and it will sing.