The Ref 5se is a phenomenal preamp.
I would go with the latest unit I can find. You can call or email ARC with the serial number and they will tell you when it was made. ARC sometimes makes small changes (improvements) as they go. I know this is true with the Ref 5se. When I sent mine back to ARC under warranty, I was told they also did some updates. Not only did the earlier version have the brown board but I believe it also had a plastic remote.
If you get an early version with plastic remote, you may want to order a replacement metal remote. The plastic remote for my Ref CD7 stopped working after a while. The weight inside came loose and after it banged around inside a while, the remote stopped working. When I called ARC I was told it was a problem with the plastic remotes.
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