jamar

I think you are going to need to listening to both Mac and ARC with the Summits. To my ears they sound different.
My preference is ARC and telling you what don't care for about Mac will not help if you like Mac.
They are both very well made amps but ask 6 ARC people and 6 Mac people and you know what their choice will probably be. Ask someone that has neither and well there will be yet another suggestion.
Only your ears can tell you which is right for you.

Thanks Brad225.....the dealer strongly recommended a Datasat 20i with the AR150 for a two channel system for music and multi-channel for home theater......I was thinking solid state for the home theater......is this a recommendable format for dual use.....

I had never heard of Datasat so I did a search and read a bit about them. The only unit with a 20i was the RS20i. I don't know if that is the same one you are looking at.

Some questions do come to mind.

What speakers are you going to be using for your center and surrounds? How many channels are you going to be running?
The rs20i as 18 channels which for most of us is over kill.

Do you listen to much 2 channel music? Were you going to use the Datasat for your 2 channel listening pre into the ARC 150? I would be supprised if it sounded as good as a stand alone pre like the Ref 5se or the Ref 3.

With a MSRP of $18,000 you could purchase a slightly used Ref 5se and a good processor and have serious money left over.

Again it all depends on what you hear and what you like.

Keep us up to date on your choice.

jamar,

What's your total budget for the preamp, amp, and wire?

Also what are your source components?

What's your room size?

How about an equipment rack and vibration attenuation devices?

What about room treatments?

How loud do you like to listen?

Do you like a drier, more detailed (close perspective) sound or a warmer, dimensional (laid back) sound?

These will all help regarding feedback.

I would advise you to visit as many stores as you can (and listen to as many systems as you can) so you can hear the wide sonic variations between different hi-end gear. This will help you get a handle on your personal biases.

In the end, only you can determine what fits your personal tastes.

GG

RS20i

The RS20i is a SoTA home theater pre/pro, which incorporates Dirac room correction. A very fine bit of kit if you plan to use it for HT or dual-use. Will it sound as good or better than the Ref 5 etc.? IMHO, it will if it's properly set up, but that means professional calibration done by a competent tech - or a very dedicated user.

For a 2 channel only system, it's massive overkill.