Audio Research GS150 vs REF150 SE

I dont think they were the same. Many of the GS150's had to be sent back for repairs shortly after being issued. THAT could very well have been the reason they were discontinued....too much product coming back under warranty

"I think" and "THAT could", signal nothing more than conjecture on your part. Rather than conjecture, why not just call ARC and ask, like I did? They will tell you that other than the layout in the chassis and the meters, the GS150 and the Ref 150SE were functionally and operationally identical. When the GS150 first came out, the Ref 150 had not yet been upgraded to the SE version. So this is the reason for so much confusion. Ward Fieberger, the engineer behind the design, was quoted as saying that the GS150 would outperform the Ref 150. Then came the Ref 150SE. GS stood for Galileo Series and the idea was to refresh the looks of ARC amps with more of an "Italian/European flair". Other than the meters which could also be used to set biasing of the tubes, the GS150 and the Ref 150SE were identical. I have an email from ARC on this too and if I had to, I could reprint it here as more proof. But in the end, this is silly. The GS150 is gone. The Ref 150SE remains. 

To answer your question...I obviously dont care enough to bother calling up a manufacturer about trivial info. Funny how I dont remember seeing all those "issues" with returns on the other IDENTICAL amps sold under another name.

Man, you're one tough cookie. 
How about this-I found ARC's email response to me in my old email;

 

Thank you for contacting Audio Research for your audio needs.

Summary: The GS150 offers higher performance than the original REF150, but the REF150SE is the sonic equal of the GS150. Yes, the meters and casework are quite beautiful, and biasing is extremely easy with the GS150.

 

Thank you,

Audio Research Customer Support

New direct phone line: +1-763-270-1233
www.audioresearch.com