Music Reference RM-10mkiii Kit

@enobenetto sorry but we never received your inquiry. We’ve sold a few of the kits and one of the builders has been taking his to some of the audio shows. The amp was in Las Vegas and Austin so far this year. Roger came up with the idea for the MkIII version as a DIY project that would be built as part of an extended class in his Berkeley Hi-Fi School. Sadly he passed away before that could come to fruition. Over the years since his passing we decided to bring it to life, primarily as a kit, but we will build them to order for those who cannot DIY.

The kit allows you to essentially build the same amp as a MkII, but there are some differences. One, it has a PCB, so it is not point-to-point wired. Second, no mono switch. Sorry, I fought hard for this but later in his career Roger felt that watts were overrated and designed lower power amplifiers such as the EM7, OTL-1, and the "Class A" version of the RM-10 MkII. After a lot of back and forth with him Roger dug in his heels and said that 35 watts ought to be enough for anyone. 

During the build we had the opportunity to use upgraded parts. No more Illinois Capacitors (if your MkII still has them consider having them replaced). We also went with a beefier version of the MkII frame with more depth allowing DIYers to sub in larger capacitors if they like. The top plates are still made for us by Neal Faye Designs in Santa Barbara,

I can understand you wanting to build a system around the amp. It’s truly a well designed piece, especially the stereo/mono part of the circuit. It is my favorite amp of Roger’s and I have had nearly all of them in my system. I am currently using the Music Reference electrostatic speaker and direct drive amplifier in my system and while it is wonderful, there is something about the RM-10 and Quad ESL combination that brings more joy to me. Perhaps you can try contacting us directly at [email protected]. I do have the parts to build a MkII and while I essentially retired for good in January (seriously, I mean it this time), I might be persuaded to build one for you, mono switch and all.

One last note, we will have a major announcement in the next week. Check the RAM Tubes website for details. I realize this won’t be popular with some of you, but as Roger felt, evolution has its drawbacks, and like Roger, I’m not trying to win a popularity contest.

Roger used a lot of throttle when he set the anchor !!!!! Thx 

jkm

Thanks Clio and Tomic601 for replying. 

I appreciate the detail explanation Clio of the status of RM-10. I mainly was interested in a mono option (and I may be wrong in my understanding) for the increase stability into 4 ohm speakers. Unfortunately, using bookshelf speakers could soon be a reality for me and most of the good ones are 4ohm in order to get any semblance of bass out of them, i.e. Philharmonic and Ascilabs. If I can keep my JBL 4349's I will stick to one, as these speakers are 91db and 8 ohm minimum. 

I am very curious about the mkIII, as it would be an evolution. I really like Modjeskie's designs. I had a mono setup of the RM-10's and a RM-200 that I am kicking myself for selling (not much walking around cash then) but I am always glad that I never sold the remaining RM-10mkII. I've never owned a RM-9, or his preamps, which would be great if my situation changes. 

Clio thanks for all this insight and I will check the site in the coming week, as well as contact you through the email provided. 

I wish someone could continue to manufacture Music Reference designs, but I imagine starting a manufacturing business in today's climate is very difficult. Would DiyAudio.com be interested in a couple of years, you think, if possible?

The challenge one faces is manufacturing to scale. There is no shortage of interest in the MkIII, just not enough resources to make it work. When Roger conceived of this his goal was to find a way to make the RM-10 more affordable without sacrificing quality. He was dismayed that we had to start selling MkII versions for nearly $4,000. We showed Roger that based on the original MSRP nearly 35 years ago at the time, with standard COLA applied the amp would MSRP for nearly the same price in 2019. Still he was adamant he could get the price down to a sub $2,000 level. Again, he put his foot down and went to work. One way to make it happen he surmised was to use a PCB. Back when the initial RM-10s were made Roger wasn't happy with the quality of the PCBs, but he found the manufacturing had improved quite a bit so he decided to use a PCB for this project. He also felt it would lend itself better to DIY classes. Outside of that it was just the transformers and he found a source that would wind them to his specs with a high level of quality. So there you have it in a nutshell. Then he passed.

So a couple of us were left to figure out how to bring this to market. Then COVID struck. Fast forward a couple years and while we made a lot of progress on design and other aspects of the build, we still needed to come in at Roger's preferred price point. Well no matter how much we sharpened the pencil and we got it down to the nub, it wasn't going to work unless we made it a straight DIY offering. So there you have it. If someone wants a build I can do it, but there will be an add on fee and you are on your own with tubes as we won't supply them with the complete build. Recently we spoke to a couple heavy hitters in the industry to see about helping us with manufacturing and marketing. Both loved Roger's work and loved what we did with the MkIII, but neither felt they could help. The market has changed so much. I suppose if we showed up with a really nice Class D amp the story might end differently.

The OTL -1 is also a  phenomenal amplifier, the best I have had driving my AG Trios.  It is unfortunate so few of these were built, as they are giant killers with high efficiency speakers.

In the introduction to his instruction sheet for biasing the  amplifier, Roger states that he felt this was his best design.