Never compared. Read all the reviews and comments, talked to Keith, bought the Herron, haven't looked back.
Before the Herron it was more than 15 years with the ARC PH3SE. Must have done home auditions with at least a dozen stages before going with the ARC. Even after 15 years and everything upgraded around it was still really happy with it. I was starting to have this intermittent connection problem that turned out to not even be the ARC but with being that old started me worrying and you know how that goes.
Point is I would have been happy with something just a little better, kind of the way my Koetsu was a nice upgrade from Benz Ruby H, a nice solid upgrade but not exactly revelatory.
What I got with the Herron is indeed revelatory. The improvement in timing evident in things like harmonic structure, attack and decay, brings a new "rightness" that made the ARC seem to have been woody and boxed in. Read my review. It was so much better my wife noticed even just hearing it through the closed door.
Then there is the build quality. I've opened it up a few times to swap fuses and treat with Total Contact and every time I do I'm impressed with the workmanship. The chassis itself is thicker than normal. Even things like the screws are higher quality, fit and thread much better, and the attention to detail extends even to the one screw nearest the ground having the finish machined off so the screw has continuity to the chassis ground.
The circuit boards are a thicker higher quality, as are all their binding posts and fasteners. The whole thing is laid out logically of course, but you will have to talk to Keith to learn some of the coolest stuff about how some circuits are designed to be out of the signal path. Like the man himself there are no gimmicks but you get exactly what you need- all the loading options you could ever want, as easily as swapping plugs, reversible AC polarity, MC and MM.
Depending on where you live you would buy either from a dealer or direct from Keith. Either way you want to call Keith first. Just talking to the man will probably clinch the deal. Honest, humble, sober and solid doesn't even begin to do him justice.
Before the Herron it was more than 15 years with the ARC PH3SE. Must have done home auditions with at least a dozen stages before going with the ARC. Even after 15 years and everything upgraded around it was still really happy with it. I was starting to have this intermittent connection problem that turned out to not even be the ARC but with being that old started me worrying and you know how that goes.
Point is I would have been happy with something just a little better, kind of the way my Koetsu was a nice upgrade from Benz Ruby H, a nice solid upgrade but not exactly revelatory.
What I got with the Herron is indeed revelatory. The improvement in timing evident in things like harmonic structure, attack and decay, brings a new "rightness" that made the ARC seem to have been woody and boxed in. Read my review. It was so much better my wife noticed even just hearing it through the closed door.
Then there is the build quality. I've opened it up a few times to swap fuses and treat with Total Contact and every time I do I'm impressed with the workmanship. The chassis itself is thicker than normal. Even things like the screws are higher quality, fit and thread much better, and the attention to detail extends even to the one screw nearest the ground having the finish machined off so the screw has continuity to the chassis ground.
The circuit boards are a thicker higher quality, as are all their binding posts and fasteners. The whole thing is laid out logically of course, but you will have to talk to Keith to learn some of the coolest stuff about how some circuits are designed to be out of the signal path. Like the man himself there are no gimmicks but you get exactly what you need- all the loading options you could ever want, as easily as swapping plugs, reversible AC polarity, MC and MM.
Depending on where you live you would buy either from a dealer or direct from Keith. Either way you want to call Keith first. Just talking to the man will probably clinch the deal. Honest, humble, sober and solid doesn't even begin to do him justice.