Audio research Ref.3 vs Primaluna Dialogue premium preamp

Just looked over some specs of the AR3, db gain 11, thats much lower than Cayin's 15, = huge points there. and I love the variety of tubes in the AR..
If you get the AR3, ship it to Richard Gray and have him upgrade with my Mundorf Silvergold EVO Oil caps, 
Huge gains there, = far superior to stock AR3. 
My choice is AR3, super tube circuitry. 
But ona  budget,,I'd go cayin SC6 Mark2, and ship to Richard have him swap caps out for M EVO Silver Oil.
New high quality caps is a real ~~game changer~~

I had a  PL Dialogue Premium , honestly, yes to be fair,, I really did not give it enough time to review,, all I know is that I prefered my Chinese Jadis Clone LS9 with 3 12AT7 stages of amplification, and with Mundorf EVO OIl Silver caps,, 
The PL Dialogue seemed to *twist* the musical image into shapes i did not like. 
 Better word is *controted*,, = spasmatic,, Again, thats not being fair, becaaue only after 1 or 2 test songs,, that was quite enough,, I returned it to seller with a  gratuitous $200 restock/hassle fee, and I paid shipping both ways.
Gotta be fair in this business.
I just posted my opinions ona  Linestage shootout, Neither of which i actually heard in my life. 
There i give my  choice as to best Line stage on the market,,outshotting any LS under say,,,$15K
I might get one, only to prove my opinion,, as i am quite happy with my Jadis DPL modded by Richard Gray, (which i've yet to hear his mods, as my sperakers are being modded next 2 weeks). 
I'm sure Richard corrected Jadis' 20 yr old design. By eliminaing the big loud mouth 12AX7 and installling the glorious delicate  12AU7, which i call ~The Emblisher tube~ vs the 12AX7 which I tag as ~~The Screamer tube~~. 
The key to any superior design ina LS is the db level.
Cayin SC6 comes it at 15db.. I am sure both your choices above is near double that. 
Unless you happen to like massive db levels,, then yeah skip the Cayin.
IMHO a  LS should be passive as possible 15db is the mark,, over that you ~~might~~ have excessive gain issues,, Which is what Richard Gray hopefully corrected in his mods of the Jadis DPL,,I'm guess, will make a  YT vid once speakers get new high tech xovers
 issues.

Don't get me wrong. The Primaluna unit is very nice. But, it isn't on the same level with the REF 3.

A  used PL newer model's for $2200
 vs  used AR Ref3, about $3500.
Something to consider.

Ok, After fighting with myself for five minutes over whether or not I should say this....;
  The last units which I saw. "Just after unboxing". They all had a (definite), "Toys-R-Us" quality to them.

No, PL is made at the Spark labs,, which makes cayin, Both models are made like tanks, yet with supreme craftmanship. These units have impecable operating designs, flawlessly for years, with zero issues.
Beautifully designed EVO 200


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