Back in the 80's and 90's Audio Research and Conrad Johnson


We're very competitive with each other. It seems like the main dealers at that time had one or the other. Nowadays you rarely ever see Conrad Johnson at a Brick and Mortar. ARC on the other hand is more popular than ever. Do you think this was mostly to do with marketing or Did ARC just come out with much better products than CJ?

taters
i sold and delivered one of the first pairs of Prem 2 and 3 back in the day. They were VERY involving and the depth of image far exceeded ARC gear it replaced. I eventually owned a 3 and MV45-A with Quad ESL that was incredible sounding. I think CJ never had the dealer base that ARC did , they never embraced a balanced architecture, late to digital and DACs ( although the DAC they offered VERY musical. and the product aesthetic is a real hodgepoge...
IF I open a B and M shop CJ would be on my shortlist..IF it were not available at a discount on Amazon....

"CJ recently moved to a different space in Fairfax VA, anyone know why ?"

Smaller space.  Appears to be a budget cut.
ARC was more popular around 1990, and had twice the number of employees that it does now. Their old plant in Minnetonka, MN was also bigger than the current one. They sell fewer, but more expensive, products now.
Even though ARC sold a lot more of their gear 25 years ago. I wonder if there sales volume in dollars is close to the same? 
Tomic601, that "involvement" you speak of is how I remembered CJ back in the day and what I am now hearing now with the upgraded PV9a with a DRAMATIC improvement in the line stage over stock. The placement, spacing, images and tone just sounds so natural on ALL music!  I sure have heard more accurate since there is that added warmth with the CJ but I just don't care, it really   "just sounds right".  It's got me curious about their current offerings.