ARC Support

I am also happy with ARC service. They have always been good with dispensing schematics, which in turn has allowed me to ask the right technical questions (which have always been imediately answered). The cost they charge is not always in line, but they always have the part you will need. They do not always have "Lexus Dealer" charm, but if you are a "resistor head" and know what you need, they usually come through pretty well. I have had much worse luck from other vendors.... Plus, there equipment sounds pretty good out of the box and is a fabulous platform to tweek if you have a soldering iron, engineering experience, and access to higher grade component parts than ARC is willing to use. You have to be proactive and utilize them for what they are good at... Don't want to pay $847 for a tube set, plenty of others sell them for 1/2 or less with the same quality and matching. Need an ARC schematic -- Leonard's your man. Need an alignment procedure, Chris is your man. Can't legally obtain proprietary procedures elsewhere... Worried about not having the latest -- find a source of information -- ARC is not going to tell you.... Good Audio Dealers will warn you of upcoming upgrades and equipment discontiuations... There are benefits to staying 1 generation behind... Cutting edge and the newest stuff is cool, but the cost and heart ache just isn't worth it to me...

Opps, made enough grammatic errors in my previous response I felt obligated to clean it up enough so that it was at least readable by most:

PS: Turnaround on ARC repairs in my experience and that of everyone I know (large Audio Research community where I live) has never been more than 3 weeks and on average about 2-6 business days (not including shipping time). When you have only been around making products for less time than it takes a child to finish the 6th grade (BAT included) you simply do not have as much out there to repair or if your equipment is as old as Audio Research's inception (1970) your equipment is not repairable due to lack of parts support (ARC is like a White Knight in customer support compared to the large percentage Home Theatre throw away electronic products that are not worth 20 percent of their original value 6-8 years from date of manufacture)or the company has gone belly up or been bought up. Included in this list are companies that made excellent performing products like Threshold, Coda, Kinergenics etc etc etc. ARC stands for lasting value in the face of landfill "home theatre" foder. Another case in point, my Rotel RHT-10's (Rotel's best tuner they made and one of the best period) remote, cosmetic pieces (like the case and face plate) are not available. So to those that spent $1500 on a NEW Rotel RHT-10 Tuner in 1993-1995 (dates of manufacture) I encourage you to give Rotel a call and ask about these parts. They will likely phrase it like they told me "we don't stock remotes or face plates and cases for that "old" tuner". That is Pride (?) or in Home Theatre vernacular "Virtual Pride". An upgrade at ARC most of time lets you keep your existing equipment case where upgrades at many other companies means a new model. There is always an upgrade cost. It, in part, depends how much "consumption of the world's (our) resources" orientation you like to be (upgrade the internal parts like ARC offers) or double the mineral exploitation costs of making a new 20 - 40 pound faceplate and case. However, toward environmental responsible purchases I will have to give the praise to Bel Canto for not making largely "ego" centric thick faceplates and their new Evo Technology being nearly 100% efficient (200 watts to speakers and ~200 watts from the wall). Compare that to Class A designs that are about 10% efficient (200 watts to speakers and ~1800 watts from the wall). Lets just hope that Bel Canto, if they are around in 30 years, will support their products like Audio Research. That will be a real winner for not just the listener but the entire planet. (hope this is a tad more readable)

It is nice to hear that there are a few happy souls that have dealt with ARC. How do many of you recent product owners find the support? They seem to support product that is no longer made better than the current production items. Maybe it is because current production items are warranteed and ARC has to eat the parts and labor versus out of production units that are in need of repair are paid for by the customer.

I am sorry that I seem so anti-ARC, but I am telling it like it is. Just too many bad experiences with them.

I was both surprised and distressed to hear of the difficulties experienced by Mes, especially for such a large expenditure. With no intention of spinning or detracting from Mes’ unfortunate experience, I can report that “in the USA”, I have received solid customer service and dealer support for ARC gear for 18+ years. I have purchased a sequence of ARC gear/upgrades since the eighties, starting with a SP-6B and D-90 up to now, with a LS25 and VT100MKII. By obtaining a return authorization # prior to shipping, all upgrades were timely and each piece has been reliable (with the exception of a tube-flaming D-160 I owned). A reliable dealer has always advised returning products for upgrades at a “slow” time, i.e., summer months or at a time when a new product is not being rolled out, thus shortening turn-around time. I readily admit that both upgrades and discontinuation of products without an upgrade path (e.g., personally, the SP-14 and D-125 come to mind) have been frustrating and expensive for me also. Despite my regular auditions of other amps/preamps, I still come back to the “sound” of their gear. As mentioned above, a less expensive and far less frustrating way of navigating the ARC upgrade path is to stay away from the current product line.

I really could not imagine an "audiophile" life without ARC equipment. I have used ARC as my reference equipment forever. This company is truly one of the industry leaders and rarely have they not lead in the best sound category. As for Leonard Gustafson, at ARC. He is an old school gentelman that, will not make a decision for you. He will follow company policy, and should not be faulted for this. The unfortunate situation that MES has experienced certainly leaves a bad taste in your mouth towards ARC, but as Nanderson so rightfully reminds us, your equipment is never obsolete or unfixable, no matter how old, with this company. I am not sure, even McIntosh can say this.
My advise to MES is to contact former ARC ace technician Steve Huntley at Great Northern Sound. He will surely be able to help,and will be, most likely cheaper, than ARC. He will have ARC credentials to satisfy your overseas customer. Good Luck..........Frank