I think the world of CAT. Their show systems with Magico speakers sound, well, magical. Ken is a brilliant designer and a nice guy. Build quality looks exceptional.
That said, Ken is asking six figures for his gear. It's probably worth it. But Audio Research offers somewhat similar sound...
Lamm and CAT make excellent gear but are very expensive (Lamm is comparable unless you factor in power output). CAT is often a six figure purchase. Audio Research is more moderate in price but also sounds great.
That’s a bit of a harsh reply given no formal announcements have been made. I also object to ARC being characterized as stale. Many of my friends who are not in the industry are very interested in the 320 for the power. Similar buzz with the new 50th Watt Puppy. But it’s early days. More...
I think that’s where the new Ref 320 monos come in. New product, new buzz, new performance.
I think Val is really keen on updating the two box flagship preamps and I have heard it is in motion.
A few thoughts...
1. Ward's death was tragic but ARC has hired two new engineers and I'm told high quality ones.
2. The tube issue has largely gone away and Western Electric will soon be producing some 12AX7 and other tubes at their Rossville, Georgia factory.
3. Val is heavily involved in...
I asked Val about this at the Tampa show. He says he runs Acora as a completely separate company. The dealer he is working with for shows is The Audio Company in Marietta not too far from my neighborhood. They are a VAC dealer and not an Audio Research dealer.
Bob, this echoes a lot of the discussion I have had with Val. He is focused on the upper end of the market and on the affordable side asking for more money for things like the I/50.
NYC rent is bananas. Andy Singer has a new by-appointment store. What about new dealers that have arrived like Next Level, House of Stereo, Bending Wave, etc.?
Hifi is a niche business. I can name a hundred niche businesses that financial advisors don't mention.
I agree with much of this but digital requires a very specialized skill set and is a different world from ARC's core skill set in designing amplifier circuits.
One more question...you state the number of devices in hifi sales is down. I was CEO at Nextscreen for a while and we never saw any valid industry wide sales numbers for high end audio. We searched high and low for this. So what source are you basing this statement on?
One thing you are missing is the emergence of the ultra luxury customer segment. As more millionaires and billionaires have been created, the ultra segment has emerged and been a boon to the better audio manufacturers. And that in many cases has led to performance insights and improvements...
I think what you are missing here is that it takes years to develop a new product. Val just arrived and has focused on the Ref 320 amplifiers. In my discussions with him, he believes ARC needs more flagship products. And he talks a lot about significant upgrades across the range. So that...
yeah, this is not true. There are lot of expensive parts from tubes to capacitors to labor in putting together an Audio Research product.
I’m far from rich but I am tired of people complaining about pricing without any first hand knowledge of how much it costs to produce the product or run the...
Come on. ARC has been needing a price increase for a while. They have been eating a lot of crazy increases in parts costs for a while. They remain a bargain at these prices.
Thanks, I appreciate the clarification. I guess my view of good industrial design is a bit different. I am also a huge Formula 1 fan but I find it hard to see how the front panel reflects that.
That's sort of my point. Why no CNC design artistry ala dCS or MSB or Magico? The Wadax boxes may even be CNC'd but they are boring black crinkle finish boxes.