I find ARC tubes to be not quite as transparent as the best ss, but almost always sounding more like live music to me. I call it the breath of life. That's what makes one a tube vs ss fan. I can, of course, understand the ss point of view. Neither view is the "right" one. One chocolate, the other vanilla.
What's a contender to an Audio Reference 5 SE?
If you were considering an Audio Reference 5 SE to mate with a Plinius SA-Reference amp, what other preamps might you consider?