For ARC lovers, Problems?

My sister's new boyfriend is getting rid of his 6-series BWM because of the cost of maintenance (I did the same with my 528e, for the same reason). I couldn't help but relate that to the cost of owning ARC electronics.

ARC enthusiasts, please don't over-react. I hold Bill Johnson in very high regard (not just as a designer/manufacturer of hi-fi products, but as a human being. I consider myself fortunate in merely having being in his presence on a number of occasions), but low-cost maintenance is not a hallmark---generally speaking---of ARC products.

One must factor in the cost of maintenance when evaluating the price-to-performance value of hi-fi products. The rub is, the sound of ARC products is seductive enough to lead some consumers to ignore that fact. Which is---imo---fine. I myself have owned seven pieces of ARC over the past 48 years (omg, I'm old ;-), one currently.

God bless you, William Z. Johnson.

 

"Does anyone know if ARC is still doing upgrades?  I was put on the list to upgrade my LS28 to LS28SE when they announced the upgrade program last June.  I inquired about it in December and was told that my upgrade would likely be scheduled for the first or second week of January.  I inquired again this month and have gotten no response.  I called and the greeting says to send an email if you have questions about service which, of course, I already had.

If anyone has any information about the upgrade program that they would like to share I would certainly appreciate hearing it."

I wrote the above back in February and I owe Audio Research an update.  I finally decided to call again and speak to an actual person rather than follow the instructions to send an email.  When I did speak to someone in service I was told to expect an email in a couple of weeks about sending my LS28 in and, in fact, got that email considerably quicker than that.  The bottom line is my pre was upgraded to an SE in short order at the announced price and the upgrade was definitely worth it.

Have since had a great time doing a shootout between the LS28SE, a PS Audio BHK Signature preamp and a Bakert Labs Rhumba Extreme 1.3.  Great fun.

Kudos to ARC.

i agree w @bdp24

arc gear, esp. power amps, have a non trivial cost of operation over time

tubes cost money, and arc amps need very well sorted and matched tubes, buying tube sets from arc you pay a 'luxury tax' of sorts, just like owners of ferraris and porsches do when it time to service them ...

worth it though... the sound is truly wonderful

@larryrs 

Have since had a great time doing a shootout between the LS28SE, a PS Audio BHK Signature preamp and a Bakert Labs Rhumba Extreme 1.3.  Great fun.

so you gonna tell us???  :)