Audio Research Tube AMP Reliability

Without matched tubes from arc, the amps can be near impossible to retube. Mis-matched input/driver tubes can wreak havoc on the output tubes & other components. Many amps require hand selected / tested parts & ARC is no exception...

I wouldn't agree with the shop owner's statement, at least as a generality. Some Audio Research designs may require more service than others, but I have had a Classic 60 for about eight years and other than tube replacement haven't had any trouble with it. Based on what I've read the biggest issue is poor quality tubes. Audio Research designs their amplifiers so that a resistor acts as a fuse which can be messy, but is better than the whole amp blowing up. Some of the newer designs run the tubes at a higher power output which stresses them more and may lead to the problems the shop owner was referring to. I also heard the the horizontal tube layout of the VT100/200 causes some problems. With respect to preamps, I've had a LS-25 for five years with no issues and had an SP-9 for 10 years prior to that with no problems. For the most part the preamp tubes are not stressed as much as the power amp tubes. The build quality of Audio Research gear is excellent so I would not fault them there. Just keep in mind that tube gear will require more user involvement than solid state, but it's worth it!

As long as your shopping and open to other manu., try McIntosh, the unity coupled circuit is less critical of tube selection.....at least that's what they say and my experience so far confirms this.

I have owned many, and I mean MANY ARC products and have never had a service related issue with any piece. The amps do require retubing more often than the preamps, but no more so than any other brand. The ARC gear is built very well and sound superb.

I can't speak for the newer amps but I used to own a SP-6A in the late 70s for many years and had never had any problem with it. I also have friends who used to own different early model ARC tube preamps and none of them experienced any major problem other than normal problems due to aging like noisy volume control, dust collection, dry up capacitors, aged tubes, etc... So I would say the early models are quite reliable.