For ARC lovers, Problems?


I had a ref 6 which I liked a lot and had no problems with. I upgraded to the ref 10 which sounded appreciably better but I ended up with a number of problems that I could no longer tolerate. I have a new pre which is very good but is not nearly as exciting as the audio research sound.
From your experience with Audio Research is this a good idea going back to the ref 6 with the hope of upgrading it to the SE? Or will I regret it due to reliability issues? There are pages on Audiogon concerning ARC reliability issues and I don't want to jump feet first into another expensive audio quicksand.
Any opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

roxy1927

Showing 1 response by bdp24

My sister's new boyfriend is getting rid of his 6-series BWM because of the cost of maintenance (I did the same with my 528e, for the same reason). I couldn't help but relate that to the cost of owning ARC electronics.

ARC enthusiasts, please don't over-react. I hold Bill Johnson in very high regard (not just as a designer/manufacturer of hi-fi products, but as a human being. I consider myself fortunate in merely having being in his presence on a number of occasions), but low-cost maintenance is not a hallmark---generally speaking---of ARC products.

One must factor in the cost of maintenance when evaluating the price-to-performance value of hi-fi products. The rub is, the sound of ARC products is seductive enough to lead some consumers to ignore that fact. Which is---imo---fine. I myself have owned seven pieces of ARC over the past 48 years (omg, I'm old ;-), one currently.

God bless you, William Z. Johnson.