Well, I have not owned any of the ARC Ref. series myself, but my friend has owned all four of them, (they skipped the ref. 4). I have heard his system countless times, and personally, I disagree with your assessment.
The One was always a bit noisy for my tastes.
The Two was slightly better, but not much.
(That being said, both the One and Two were quite musical, and possibly more so that the Three and Five that followed, but I would never have owned either.)
The Three was a big step up, IMHO. It was much quieter, and more transparent. I would consider owning this preamp.
The Five is basically just a better Three, IMHO. (Basically just more of the same, with slightly better dynamics and slightly better bass response.)
I recommend that you not bother with the Ref. Five, because if you dislike the Three, the Five will not be much better, (in my estimation anyway).
FYI, as you can tell, I highly prize deep, dark, black backgrounds, and the Ref. Three and Five preamps excel at that, versus the One and Two. (FYI, I own a solid state preamp myself, (Ayre K-1xe), primarily for that very reason.) Tube rushing noise bugs the heck out of me, and both the One and Two had it, albeit somewhat muted, but still, it was there. (I should point out that it never much bothered my friend, so perhaps I am just overly sensitive to it.)
My two cents worth.
The One was always a bit noisy for my tastes.
The Two was slightly better, but not much.
(That being said, both the One and Two were quite musical, and possibly more so that the Three and Five that followed, but I would never have owned either.)
The Three was a big step up, IMHO. It was much quieter, and more transparent. I would consider owning this preamp.
The Five is basically just a better Three, IMHO. (Basically just more of the same, with slightly better dynamics and slightly better bass response.)
I recommend that you not bother with the Ref. Five, because if you dislike the Three, the Five will not be much better, (in my estimation anyway).
FYI, as you can tell, I highly prize deep, dark, black backgrounds, and the Ref. Three and Five preamps excel at that, versus the One and Two. (FYI, I own a solid state preamp myself, (Ayre K-1xe), primarily for that very reason.) Tube rushing noise bugs the heck out of me, and both the One and Two had it, albeit somewhat muted, but still, it was there. (I should point out that it never much bothered my friend, so perhaps I am just overly sensitive to it.)
My two cents worth.