[Dafos]

Bill, I have not heard the direct comparison that you seek but allow me to share my opinion on this matter. I have owned both the ph3 and the ph7 and while both are excellent sounding units, I felt that their overall gain of 57db was a bit lacking particularly when used with very low output MC carts, meaning those with outputs in the area of .3mv and below and there are lots of excellent carts that belong to this group. When paired with low gain preamps such as ARC's own units, there were instances that I needed to jack the volume level to upward of 70% of maximum where I felt the preamplifier was no longer operating at it's comfort zone, sort of like a car engine revved beyond it's maximum torque range. On the other hand, the specs of the jc 3 show an overall gain of 68db, which, in my experience, is adequate to handle even very low output MC carts. Sonically, I'm pretty sure the jc 3, being John curl designed, should at least equal the performance of your ph 5. Whether or not its 11db of additional gain will benefit you is very system dependent, ie speaker efficiency, line stage gain, and most importantly, cartridge output. If you are satisfied with the performance of your ph 5 with your cartridge then there seems to be no reason for you to risk ordering the jc 3. On the other hand, given my systems specs, I definitely welcome that 11db of additional gain so I probably would order the jc 3 based on reviews and the fact that the man behind it's design, John Curl, is one of the more accomplished and respected phono stage designers in the industry. However, it must be noted that at it's MC setting, the jc 3 only offers a solitary impedance load setting of 100 ohms vs the ph 5 that I believe offers at least 5 different load settings. Many mc carts do benefit when loaded optimally and the jc 3's fixed setting of 100 ohms may not be the optimal choice for a given cart. In conclusion, given this wide set of variables, only you can decide whether to jump the gun on the jc 3 but if i were in your shoes, I would probably make the move since that additional 11 db of gain offers me the flexibility to use it with a wider range of excellent low output MC's.