Why are People Dumping their Audio Research Gear and What Does it Say about them?

Says more about the seller. Many people emotionally overreact when a negative event/issue occurs.

Audio research runs their tubes especially hard and they need to be replaced more frequently. And many say they sound like solid state.

I was close to buying one but it doesn’t work well with home theater due to heavy tubes use.

They were priced on the hi side. And now with all the dealers involved and reluctance by dealers to take trade-ins, used prices Will be very depressed. Long-term servicing a product is now a question. Someone pays $15,000 for A preamp and then 4 years from now something doesn’t work properly and then you worry about servicing and warranty it’s a death spiral it’s a financial mess nobody’s gonna wanna buy this company.

So happy I never bought one of these. And this is just the beginning for other hi-fi dealers and manufacturers. Financing costs are going a lot higher and 4 to 5% and even higher it’s very difficult to manage inventory 

I am listening to an all ARC Reference system as I type this. It is the most incredible system I have ever heard (and I have heard dozens of much more expensive systems over the decades) and amazes me daily how magical and musical it is.

It took me nearly fifty years to be able to afford it and after listening to it for over three thousand hours still have a very hard time dragging myself away every single night.

In my retirement it is the most valued possession and happiest that I spent the thousands of hours and dollars it took to getting here.

Love Audio Research gear. This is one manufacturer that makes gear sound as good as it looks! As far as letting go, (i would prefer these words as opposed to dumping) and it is more likely out of curiosity to try something else. How many audiophiles put together a new system only to regret letting go of their previous gear. This happens, but not in every case.

In audio, it seems that a manufacturer gets one chance to do well, and that’s it.

Back in the 90s I had an Audio Research SP-9 preamp. It was not particularly good: details were obscured by the noise floor, and there was little depth to the soundstage. Its tonality was hard and neutral--certainly not warmish. Also, I could hear crosstalk among the inputs. I kept it for a couple of months, then traded it back in to the dealer for a much better product (not by ARC).

Audio Research may make better products today. But I’ll never go there again. Don’t know, don’t care.