I've owned both McIntosh and ARC over the years. In fact the last time I owned ARC, it was a rather serious setup of Ref40th preamp, Ref250 monos and the Reference Phono 2.
https://youtu.be/7HiS4a-TcAU
I could not connect with that modern ARC system like I have in the past with the various ARC gear that came and went throughout the years. But that is not to say it sounded bad, just wasn't my taste and in all honesty I did not make much effort to optimize and tweak things out to see if it would work out long term... Sometimes it's just a no go from the start. Considering how much that system cost, there was no way I was going to keep it if I didn't find it enjoyable.
Plenty of happy ARC owners out there that do find it synergistic and enjoyable.
