I'm happy to hear that MR will continue. I remember some years ago I was looking to upgrade from an Adcom 555 amplifier. My budget was about $4k. I wanted something with some power. Along came Michael Fremer's review of the RM200. That review referenced some of Roger's letters to Stereophile in the midst of the Manley exchanges, and his comments regarding Audio Research. I liked the feistiness, and what was obviously an extremely intelligent individual, who was willing to break the china.
I ended up purchasing the RM200II from Audio Art in Virginia. For some reason, I could not get the amp to communicate with my speakers. I called MR, and Roger answered the phone. I explained the situation, and I must have caught him at a bad time, because he eventually told me that maybe I was not the right person to own a tube amp, and he would buy it back from me. Since I was not about to sell the amp, he suggested I call him back the next evening.
I called him back the next evening, and he had apparently settled down. He took me step by step through the process of trying to figure out the problem, which we eventually solved. I don't recall what the problem was. I complemented him on the beauty of the amplifier. He seemed genuinely appreciative.
We then talked about cables. How he thought the cable industry were essentially criminals for what they charge. We talked about the toughness of his amps. He instructed me to take my fist and pound on, which I did. We talked about reviewers, of which he did not hold much esteem. He mentioned a reviewer without naming names who told Roger that the reviewer could hear the difference between different amplifiers based upon their wattage, so he refused to send the reviewer a review sample because he thought the reviewer was full of you know what.
The one exception he did mention was John Atkinson of Stereophile. He felt Atkinson was one of the few reviewers who understood engineering principles, and he always read Atkinson's measurements.
We talked about pre-amps. I asked him whether he intended to manufacturer a pre-amp. He asked me what price point I was interested in, how many and what kind of inputs I'd need. He told me that designing a new full functioning pre-amp was on his list of things to do. As time went on it became pretty clear that he had other priorities, and after waiting years, I pulled the trigger on an Aesthetix Janus.
I mentioned to him that I might like more power, and queried whether I should purchase his RM300 monoblocs, or bridge his RM200II amplifier, and then purchase another. He told me that "bridging" is the incorrect term as applied to a tube amplifier, and that I should be more than satisfied with the power of one RM200II. If for some reason I was not, he would let me use it for a year, and then buy it back from me so I could purchase an RM300. Needless to say, I've kept the RM200II.
Someone mentioned MR products are heirloom products, and that they are. Of all the equipment I own, Janus, Ayre compact disc player, Gallo 3.1 speakers, Rega tonearm, Clearaudio cartridge, none are what I consider heirloom products, to be passed down from generation to generation. I know my RM200II will serve me well the rest of my life. I am comforted knowing that this amplifier, which is my favorite audio product I've ever owned, was built from Roger's ingenious and brilliant mind. Roger commented that he really liked the photo of the RM200II that sits in my gallery here. For that I'm eternally grateful.
