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Audio Research 300.2 Comments Please

Hi folks. Interested in your thoughts on the 300.2 from Audio Research. I'm in need of a high current and high damping factor design to drive some new speakers and I'd like to stay in the ARC family. I've got a 150.2 in my system right now on loan from a friend and it sounds pretty good but I'm wondering what might be gained by going to the next model up. Preamp is a SP16. I'd particularly like to hear from folks who were former owners and sold due to shortcomings or from people who have some experience with other solid state amps in the ARC lineup as a point of comparison. I like the fact that the new models run cool but in the end I'm hoping for performance which exceeds my old 100.2 (which is tough to beat) but with more low end control and superior dynamics. Thanks for your time.
dodgealum
dodgealum OP
1,398 posts
 
Eclectichap--thanks for sharing your thoughts. You are just the kind of user whose comments I am interested in because I have a 150.2 in the system right now and am wondering what is to be gained by stepping up to the 300.2. Can you discuss in detail what differences you experienced when you made that switch? Thanks for your time.
twilo
357 posts
 
Is the 300.2 similar to the Audio Research D400 amp in the early to mid 90s.
That was AR's top of the line Solid state amp back then.
It was 200 watts and about 90 pounds.
It was a really good solid state amp.
I liked the bass alot.
kenklein1
20 posts
 
Last year I auditioned this amp along with js1 halos and Krell. I called Leonard at ARC and told him that the 300 sounded pretty awful on the Martin Logan Odysseys compared with the Halos parasound js1 which sounded bright hard and the Krell was very quiet black backround from which the music evolves not dry or unmusical as I was led to believe. Martin Logan said the 300.2 design does not do as well with a low 1.2 ohm load swing that the ML speaker throws as the Krell which is stable down to 1 ohm. I am buying soon a ref3 or ls26 to replace the ss krell preamp
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