William Zane Johnson invented the modern tube amplifier and started a company called Audio Research. I have owned 3 ARC power amplifiers including 250SE monoblocks and 160M monoblocks. Audio Research has been extremely responsible and have even repaired out of warranty used amplifiers for me free-of-charge.
If you have a good relationship with an ARC dealer, you can get great deals on demo models at a substantial discount. It is indicative of the groupthink on social media in which folks believe that every company has to cater to their every whim. All of these niche companies are very small, so do not expect instant, on-demand customer service like you would get from Amazon or McIntosh.
In terms of sound, it depends on your system. I have tried McIntosh, VTL, VAC and CJ tube amps in my system and none of them sound as good as ARC tube amps. My system has an Esoteric K-01XD source, Luxman CL1000 preamplifier, and Wilson Audio Sasha DAW speakers. I think that ARC power amps work well with Wilson Audio speakers.
I think the OP posed a somewhat limited question. Are you trying to decide between buying one or the other? There are many great tube amplifiers, and there is no absolute answer to your question.
