The ARC Ref. 3 is within spitting distance of the Ref. 5, so if you can't afford the Ref. 5, the Ref. 3 should tide you over until you can.
My friend has steadily progressed from the ARC Ref. 1, to the Ref. 2, then to the Ref. 3, (which was a big leap forward, IMHO), and then finally to the Ref. 5. So, I have a fair amount of experience with the ARC line up of preamps. The Ref. 3 sounds very close to the Ref. 5, lacking only a very small degree of quickness and transparency. Other than that, they are virtually identical sonically, IMHO.
Another good preamp is the VTL TL-6.5 Signature preamp. This is a hybrid preamp, with only two tubes, (2~12AU7 tubes). It is very similar to the ARC Ref. 3 and Ref. 5 sonically. It too is fully balanced. Basically it is a VTL TL-7.5 series 2 all shoved into one large box. (And I do mean a large box. I bought the TL-6.5 and it barely fits on my stereo rack.) Used it runs about $4-5K. (It beats out, albeit only very slightly, my previous preamp, the Ayre K-1xe, which is another good fully balanced preamp. Used the Ayre goes for around $3K, without the optional phono stage.)
Here is a link where someone compares the ARC Ref. 3 and the VTL TL-6.5 head to head.
ARC Ref. 3 vs. VTl TL 6.5
Good Luck in your search!
My friend has steadily progressed from the ARC Ref. 1, to the Ref. 2, then to the Ref. 3, (which was a big leap forward, IMHO), and then finally to the Ref. 5. So, I have a fair amount of experience with the ARC line up of preamps. The Ref. 3 sounds very close to the Ref. 5, lacking only a very small degree of quickness and transparency. Other than that, they are virtually identical sonically, IMHO.
Another good preamp is the VTL TL-6.5 Signature preamp. This is a hybrid preamp, with only two tubes, (2~12AU7 tubes). It is very similar to the ARC Ref. 3 and Ref. 5 sonically. It too is fully balanced. Basically it is a VTL TL-7.5 series 2 all shoved into one large box. (And I do mean a large box. I bought the TL-6.5 and it barely fits on my stereo rack.) Used it runs about $4-5K. (It beats out, albeit only very slightly, my previous preamp, the Ayre K-1xe, which is another good fully balanced preamp. Used the Ayre goes for around $3K, without the optional phono stage.)
Here is a link where someone compares the ARC Ref. 3 and the VTL TL-6.5 head to head.
ARC Ref. 3 vs. VTl TL 6.5
Good Luck in your search!