Whither Audio Research

[Gregadd]

good to hear. the I50 is available online for those who are interested.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you for telling us this information!

 

[Bill Hart]

A little nostalgia. My system in 1975. Phone photo of an old Polaroid. (remember those?)

 

[gadawg58]

The truth is that anything a tube can do a transistor can do better! Speaking as an owner of lots of vintage tube gear - which goes unused!

And I have a pair of Mark Levinson No536's that are now unused after hearing a really nice pair of tube amps in my system. While our statements may be totally true for each of us they are meaningless in the context of the larger discussion. That said ... no need to debate this here as this has been done countless times and is purely a subjective discussion. Yes there are definitely things one does better or differently than the other but which is best overall I think is still personal preference which each of us are totally entitled to! Listen to what you like and enjoy the music!

Cheers!

George

 

[DonH50]

ARC has had its ups and downs; hopefully this is just a bump in the road. I look forward to reading the update assuming it is posted here; I do not "do" Facebook. I sold most of my ARC equipment years ago, leaving only my old modified SP3a1 in a box, somewhere. I was going to ship it in for rebuild some time back, but they would only accept it in original stock condition even though they were completely replacing both boards, and I was (am) too lazy to tear it down and rebuild it to stock again. I am not even sure where some of the original parts are at this point, decades and several moves later.

 

[Gregadd]

ARC has had its ups and downs; hopefully this is just a bump in the road. I look forward to reading the update assuming it is posted here; I do not "do" Facebook. I sold most of my ARC equipment years ago, leaving only my old modified SP3a1 in a box, somewhere. I was going to ship it in for rebuild some time back, but they would only accept it in original stock condition even though they were completely replacing both boards, and I was (am) too lazy to tear it down and rebuild it to stock again. I am not even sure where some of the original parts are at this point, decades and several moves later.

Professor Don, I don't have a link .But I am sure there are some other ARC modifiers out there. That SP3a is a collector's item no doubt.

 

[SOS]

@gadawg58 well said!

 

[Gregadd]

audio research sp3a rebuild - Google Search

 

[jaulbrich]

Unlike wine or whisky tube gear only declines sonically over time/use.

You were a troll on Audiogon and now you are one here. You comments are absurd. I think you are one of those guys who likes attention by being hated. Typical for an insecure person. Go some place else and play your little lame game there. No one will respect here either.

 

[Chorus]

Glad to hear that Gordon and Warren are willing to remain. Hope there is a US or Canadian Based Company interested in stepping in.
Trent's pockets were apparently not deep enough to keep things afloat until the "New" AR got a toe hold. Retail sales will be at a dead stop
until the air clears. New owners will have to make some "Special" offers to keep retailers happy. Can't see how a direct to consumer model
would ever work on these high end products. Might be tempting to Margules who seems interested in a larger US Market position. Gotta think
the IFI folks are also sniffing around.

 

[tima]

Membership quality continues to decline.

Why do you think that is? Big city flight?

 

[gleeds]

Folks, WOMs divestiture of Audio Research a few years back almost certainly left them in a tight spot. WOM invested heavily in AR and modernized its facilities, industrial design and funded new projects. They also brought the marketing clout and co-distribution of their bigger brands, Sonus Faber and McIntosh. I expect the sale back to private owners was based upon a pay out, one that new, and a debt load ownership simply could not support with robust sales and lots of cash flow.

Audio Research is, as far as high-end audio brands go as iconic as Bozak, Marantz and Mark Levinson brands were and indeed these firms no longer exist or are not recognizable as the brands of years past. The bottom line is running a privately held high-end audio business is more for passion than money. That said, there are quite a few young designers out there taking risks, breaking new ground and advancing the art at all levels of the high-end scene. Because of their energy and dedication I believe new iconic brands will emerge and therefore remain optimistic about the future of the industry.

 

[gleeds]

Glad to hear that Gordon and Warren are willing to remain. Hope there is a US or Canadian Based Company interested in stepping in.
Trent's pockets were apparently not deep enough to keep things afloat until the "New" AR got a toe hold. Retail sales will be at a dead stop
until the air clears. New owners will have to make some "Special" offers to keep retailers happy. Can't see how a direct to consumer model
would ever work on these high end products. Might be tempting to Margules who seems interested in a larger US Market position. Gotta think
the IFI folks are also sniffing around.

Margules is indeed building their US market and are doing extremely well with AV Luxury International as their US partner. AVL is building an exceptional dealer network and fully supporting their products stateside. I recently has the pleasure of visiting the Margules factory in Mexico City and was duly impressed by the passion and technical brilliance of Julian Margules, the business skills and ambition of his son Jacobo and the dedication of their small, yet talented workforce hand building and testing each and every product that leaves the shop.

 

[tima]

Audio Research is, as far as high-end audio brands go as iconic as Bozak, Marantz and Mark Levinson brands were and indeed these firms no longer exist or are not recognizable as the brands of years past. The bottom line is running a privately held high-end audio business is more for passion than money. That said, there are quite a few young designers out there taking risks, breaking new ground and advancing the art at all levels of the high-end scene. Because of their energy and dedication I believe new iconic brands will emerge and therefore remain optimistic about the future of the industry

Would you offer examples of new ground broken and advances at all levels? In terms of realistic reproduction, I'm not aware of such. Tia

 

[godofwealth]

Just got a Mola Mola Makua all in one preamp — DAC, phono stage, Roon server and the most flexible interface I have yet seen in 30+ years of owning preamps. Get this — you can run 5+ turntables through the Makua and configure each one individually through an iPhone app. I’m still auditioning it and will post a longer review. But the Makua breaks new ground in transparency for me. The built in DAC — the same as the highly rated Tambaqui — is a contender for best DAC that money can buy and since it feeds into a class A gain stage, it’s even better sounding than the Tambaqui, according to designer Brian Putzeys. It’s a true breakthrough in design, interface and usability. Mola Mola is certainly a young and upcoming brand well worth watching. I’m waiting to get Putzey’s breakthrough Kaluga class D amps as well. These redefine amplification in terms of measurements and sound.

 

[djsina2]

Just got a Mola Mola Makua all in one preamp — DAC, phono stage, Roon server and the most flexible interface I have yet seen in 30+ years of owning preamps. Get this — you can run 5+ turntables through the Makua and configure each one individually through an iPhone app. I’m still auditioning it and will post a longer review. But the Makua breaks new ground in transparency for me. The built in DAC — the same as the highly rated Tambaqui — is a contender for best DAC that money can buy and since it feeds into a class A gain stage, it’s even better sounding than the Tambaqui, according to designer Brian Putzeys. It’s a true breakthrough in design, interface and usability. Mola Mola is certainly a young and upcoming brand well worth watching. I’m waiting to get Putzey’s breakthrough Kaluga class D amps as well. These redefine amplification in terms of measurements and sound.

Who in their right mind would want their turntable(s) tied to an iPhone app?

 

[Chorus]

I might suggest a couple names.
Leonid Ayzenshtat. Michael Borresen. Ralph Karsten.

 

[microstrip]

Just found this thread - really sad news. Let us hope they find a buyer and operation goes on.

Audio Research was part of my audiophile beginnings, still an university student I spent enjoyable time listening for years to an older acquaintance SP10 until I could get a SP8 and much later could get his SP10 at a nice price ... With an ARC D70 mk2 and the ESL63 it was probably my longest immovable system.

For some time I owned the REF40/REF750's - still the best preamplifier /amplifier combo that I have owned for sonics. The high cost of operation , maintenance and heat of the REF750's pushed its sale - I must say that I still regret it having let it go. But I just looked around and found I have been the happy owner of the REF40 for thirteen years!

 

[gleeds]

Godowalth, the Mola gear sounds interesting indeed.

Tima, et al a few companies and designers that are breaking new ground

- Angus Leung, WestminsterLab electronics

- Aki San of DS Audio optical cartridges

- Ivo Sparidan, AEquo Audio - new loudspeaker technology debuting this fall

- Lukaz Fikus, Lampizator - the Horizon DAC, a modern classic if I ever heard one!

- Emil Bach, Taiko servers

- Soo in Chae Enlium 23R

- Ares Cerat, Stavros Danos electronics and horn loudspeakers

- Otto Popori, Popori Acoustics - modern electrostatics

- Alberto Guerra, AGD amplifiers

 

[godofwealth]

Who in their right mind would want their turntable(s) tied to an iPhone app?

Consider the ardent vinyl aficionados like myself! Why would I want such a feature? Well, get this. I can set the equalization of each cartridge to hundreds of possible curves, besides RIAA. 78 rpm, Decca, etc. Read the details here.

Mola Mola

Description

www.mola-mola.nl