anyone a/b'd a AR LS 3 against a LS 12 preamp??

Hi, am looking to mate AR solid stat with solid state...amp will be the 100.2...I have a LS3 (unbalanced) questions for anyone with experience in these weight matters...anyone heard this amp mated with either the solid state LS 3, or the LS 12...thats one question, second, is it worth getting an LS 3 snet of an balanced, would it significantly improve performance to go into 100.3 balanced, or not really much difference. I have owned the LS 3 years ago and I liked it wuite a bit, so that is good, I just picked up a mint one...but read superb reveiews of the LS 12, I have no interest in tubes, just was wondering if anyone know the sonic signatures and/or differences of these two preamps, mated against a 100.2 (or any amp for that matter) As I recall, I founfd the LS 3 to almost have a warm sound, but with detail as I recall...last question...for anyone who has owned this amp which is supposed to sound a bit like tubes but with bass extension and control...is the amp conservaitively rated enough to successfully drive a pair of totme mani-2's? Cause that is what it will be driving, but I know those speakers are notorious for presenting a rather difficult load for even a good amp, wsnt sure if the 200 watts , 360 into 3 ohms the AR is rated at, if it will be enough to drive the totmes...deosnt really matter cause i bought all the stuff already and am waiting for it, just thought someon might know thanx