There is a used LS 27 listed right now for $4700. According to ARC it surpases the performance of the Ref 3. Particularly if your system is balanced, the LS 27 represents a strong contender in your price range.
While this may not be a concern to you, but consider the resale of ARC. At $4700 if it didn't fit your needs you're out very little.
FWIW if you can get rid of the caps at the output of any preamp it will sound better. 'Better'= more bass extension, more transparent, less coloration.
So far the only preamp mentioned that has no coupling cap (or transformer) at its output is one of the preamps in the original post.
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