DESCRIPTION Tubed integrated amplifier with remote control of volume and source. Tube complement: four 6550C, two 6H30. Overall negative feedback: 7dB. Output power: 50Wpc continuous (17dBW), 20Hz–20kHz. Frequency response: 1Hz–80kHz, –3dB, at 1W. Total harmonic distortion (1kHz): typically 1.5% at 50W, 0.05% at 1W. Input sensitivity: 470mV RMS single-ended, for rated output (32.5dB gain into 8 ohms). Input impedance: 50k ohms, single-ended. Maximum input: 3.5V RMS (any input). Hum and noise: <0.1mV RMS, –106dB ref. rated output (IHF weighted). Power-supply energy storage: ca 166 joules. DIMENSIONS 14" (356mm) W by 8" (203mm) H by 16" (406mm) D; rear connectors extend 0.88" (23mm) beyond chassis. Weight: 34.8 lbs (15.8kg) net, 38.3 lbs (17.4kg) shipping.SERIAL NUMBER OF UNIT REVIEWED 88404605.PRICE $3995 (add $500 for tube cage). Approximate number of dealers: 25.MANUFACTURER Audio Research Corporation, 3900 Annapolis Lane N., Plymouth, MN 55447-5447. Tel: (763) 577-9700. Fax: (763) 577-0323. Web: www.audioresearch.com.

I’m a basically a tube guy, but I’ve never warmed up to most lower-powered integrated tube amps. Although I quite enjoyed the time I spent with the Cayin A-50T, which I reviewed in the March 2008 issue of Stereophile,

over the years I’ve typically found I’d rather spend time with mid-priced, solid-state integrateds from Creek, Musical Fidelity, or Simaudio than deal with the loss of definition at the frequency extremes that I’ve heard from many lower-pow-ered tube models. So it was with a bit of trepidation that I approached the VSi60, a 50Wpc integrated amplifier from Audio Research Corporation.

I’d heard good things about the VSi60 from those who’d heard it at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, and its tube complement suggested that it might share some technology trickled down from my beloved reference power amplifier, ARC’s own Reference 110, which I reviewed in August 2007. Finally, the VSi60’s price of $3995 plugged the wide gap between the several fine solid-state inte-grateds available for $2000–$3000 and the combos of tubed preamps and power amp(s) that begin at about $10,000.

DesignIn the VSi60, a passive line stage is combined with a JFET input stage driving two 6H30 driver tubes, one per channel. The output stage for each channel uses a matched pair of Svetlana 6550C push-pull output tubes with a combination of pentode operation and ARC’s “partially cathode-coupled topol-ogy.” The VSi60’s circuitry is essentially identical to that of ARC’s VS60 power amp ($3495), but with a higher input sensitivity so as to be able to be directly driven by line-level sources. The controls on the faceplate (available in silver or black) are very similar to those on ARC’s SP17 preamp. There are six soft-touch buttons (duplicated on the slim, elegant remote control), for Power, Mute, Stereo/Mono, Input selection, and Volume Up/Down.

On the rear panel are five pairs of single-ended inputs labeled CD, Tuner, Video, SE1, and SE2, as well as a full-range mono subwoofer output. Output taps at 4 and 8 ohms are supplied, as well as four pairs of voltmeter test points for setting output tube bias. (ARC claims that biasing the VSi60 is not very tweaky; it should drift only rarely from its factory settings.)

The VSi60 is convenient to use. To warm up the tubes, it automatically mutes itself for the first 30 seconds following turn-on, and a microprocessor remembers the last input and Stereo/Mono

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Audio ResearchVSi60integrated amplifierROBeRT j. ReINA

ElEctronically rEPrintED FroM SEPtEMBEr 2010

E Q U I P M E N T R E P O R T

“A retro, early 1970s, Audio Research SP3” kind of look.

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settings selected when the unit was pow-ered down. To avoid any accidents, you then have to manually unMute the VSi60 after turn-on before you can do any listening.

A black tube cage is avail-able (add $500). I requested one—amps here live at the curiosity level of my two dogs, and I was con-cerned that one or both of them might develop Seared Sheltie Snout—but ended up not using it. My dogs were uninter-ested in the VSi60 (they must be solid-state fans), and installing the cage requires removing the VSi60’s sexy-looking, silver-anodized top plate with its recessed Audio Research logo (to provide adequate ventilation). I also thought the cage was butt-ugly. I liked the look of the naked VSi60, in a retro, early-1970s, Audio Research SP3 kind of way.

Warren Gehl, ARC’s materials engineer, quality-control technician, and chief “lis-tener,” admitted to me that the VSi60 and

Reference 110 have many similarities. Each has a JFET input stage and uses the same tube types (although the 110 has twice as many of each). The Reference 110 is, how-ever, a fully balanced design (the VSi60 is single-ended) with much larger power transformers, as well as more exotic and expensive coupling capacitors. Gehl also ad-mitted that, apart from the cost issue, using

the Ref 110’s larger coupling capacitors in the VSi60 would have resulted in the inte-grated’s physical footprint being larger than

ARC wanted.About that 50Wpc power rating: ARC

claims that the VSi60 is designed to drive power-hungry, low-impedance speak-

ers. In fact, Gehl told me, the amp was designed using Wilson Audio Specialties’ MAXX IIs, and claims that it can drive them to satisfy-ingly loud levels in ARC’s 32' by 28' listening room. I hooked up the VSi60 to my Alón Circe floorstanders, a very benign 8 ohm load. In fact, in the past I’ve driven

the Circes to satisfyingly loud vol-umes using single-ended-triode tube

amps rated to deliver watts in the single dig-its.

SoundThe rich, glorious, uncolored, holographic midrange of the VSi60 made it a natural match for well-recorded voices. My favorite John Lennon vocal is in the Beatles’ cover of Arthur Alexander’s “Anna,” from the

I examined the Audio Research VSi60’s measured performance with Stereophile’s loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the january 2008 “As We See It” and www.ap.com); for some tests, I also used my vintage Audio Precision

System One Dual Domain. I checked the bias of each output tube after let-ting the amplifier warm up for an hour and before I did any testing. All the tubes had exactly 60mV of bias, as specified, and didn’t need adjustment with the top-panel potentiometers, which suggests good stability.

I had one mishap during the testing: I was measuring the amplifier’s clipping power from the 4 ohm output transformer tap into 16 ohms and, just as the waveform squared, there was a loud bang. I immediately pulled out the AC lead and took the cover off. The 100 ohm wire-wound plate re-sistor for one of the left channel’s 6550 output tubes had exploded. No fus-es had blown! The other channel was okay, as was the same tube’s 1 ohm cathode resistor. Audio Research sent me a replacement tube and resistor, which I installed (using lead-free solder supplied by ARC), though not to the same standard of neat soldering typical of the Minnesota company’s products. The repaired left channel measured the same as the undamaged right channel, and offered the same signal/noise ratio as it had before the accident. I continued with the remaining tests, the harmonic and inter-modulation spectra.

The VSi60 offered a maximum voltage gain into 8 ohms of 32.65dB from the 8 ohm tap, and 29.9dB from the 4 ohm tap. Though these gains are lower than usual for an integrated amplifier, in my opinion they’re optimal for CD sources. The unity-gain setting of the volume control was between the third and fourth green LeDs on the front-panel thermometer display. The VSi60 preserved absolute polarity (ie, was non-inverting) through all the inputs and from both output taps. Its input impedance was usefully high, at 51k ohms, in the midrange and below, decreasing slightly, to 37k ohms, at 20kHz. The subwoofer output appeared to be full-range,

meaning that it should be used with a subwoofer that has its own low-pass input filter.

As expected for an amplifier using a single pair of 6550 tubes per channel, the output impedance was moderately high in the bass and midrange, at 2.5 ohms from the 8 ohm tap and 1.6 ohms from the 4 ohm tap. The impedance rose at 20kHz, to 3 and 2.16 ohms, from the 8 and 4 ohm taps, respectively. This highish source impedance gave rise to ±1.4dB response variations from the 8 ohm tap into the magazine’s standard simulated loudspeaker (fig.1, gray trace), while the increase in source impedance at high frequencies resulted in a premature top-octave rolloff of –2dB at 20kHz into 2 ohms (fig.1, magenta). The responses from the 4 ohm tap were similar, but with less variation in response due to different load impedances, as expected (not shown). If you look

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Fig.1 Audio Research VSi60, 8 ohm tap, frequency response at 2.83V into: simulated loudspeaker load (gray), 16 ohms (green), 8 ohms (blue), 4 ohms (red), 2 ohms (magenta). (0.25dB/vertical div.)

As always with ARC products, the right-channel inputs are on the top.

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impeccably remastered The Beatles in Mono (CD, Apple 5 099969945120), and the ARC reproduced it with a delicate yet forcefully dynamic grit, clearly delineating every touch of studio reverb in a bath of guttural glory. In the soprano range, Aretha Franklin’s ren-dering of “Mary Don’t You Weep,” from her Amazing Grace (CD, Atlantic 2-906-2), was reproduced with her voice blooming within the sort of subtle, linear, powerful dynamic envelope I’ve heard only from much more expensive tube electronics.

The VSi60’s ability to reproduce the mid-range also made it a natural match for well-recorded albums of acoustic jazz piano. On “Tears Transforming,” from the Tord Gus-tavsen Trio’s The Ground (CD, ECM 1892), the pianist’s middle register was delicately reproduced, with all of its natural warmth and subtle transient articulations remaining intact.

Further up the audioband, the ARC’s clean, extended, detailed reproduction of high frequencies made it a good match for jazz and classical recordings. Miles Davis’ trumpet on “If I Were a Bell,” from Relaxin’ (CD, Prestige VICJ 60125), had perfect tran-

sient bite, a golden burnished decay, and the natural breathiness of the real thing. Violin-ist Arturo Delmoni’s stunning performances on Ysaÿe Kreisler Bach: Solo Violin Works (CD, John Marks JMR 14) were rendered with pristine, extended, and airy detail and deli-cacy; every ambient nuance of the recording space was captured with breathtaking three-dimensional verisimilitude.

In my high-ceilinged, 18' by 35' listening room, I didn’t expect to hear much of the bottom end of the audioband from a 50Wpc amp driving speakers capable of producing 20Hz. Boy, was I surprised. Bass guitarist Pe-ter Freeman’s entrance in “Aurora,” on John Hassell’s Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes in the Street (CD, ECM 2077), came crashing into the room like rolling thunder, but with no trace of coloration, distortion, low-end rolloff, or compression. “Lord’s

Tundra,” a solo performance on eight-string electric bass by Dean Peer on his Ucross (LP, Jazz Planet/Classic JP 5002-1) kicked me in the chest during the repeated, high-level transients in the arpeggiated phrases. Chris Jones’s rapid-fire electronic-synth blasts in Overcast Radio’s “Midnight Sun” (45rpm single, Surface Tension STNSN 002) had a visiting friend frantically writing down the

name of this disc; the look on his face said, “I wonder if this record can make my speak-ers sound like this!” Finally, I cranked up to 95dB Kraftwerk’s Minimum/Maximum (CD, EMI ASW 60611): the room slam-danced with clean, pristine, high-level dynamics and no trace of smeared transients.

Speaking of loud, I thought this was one area where this little tube baby would peter out. Most of the time, it didn’t. The full-throated orchestral tuttis on “Bluesville,”

closely at the traces in fig.1, you can see a slight knee at 50kHz. This graph was taken with the volume control set to its maximum; at lower settings of the volume control, the knee became a little more pronounced (not shown), which implies the existence of some sort of parasitic resonance, which in turn results in a couple of cycles of well-damped ringing on the tops and bottoms of a 10kHz squarewave (fig.2). The 4 ohm tap was better behaved in this respect. The amplifier’s reproduction of a 1kHz squarewave was superbly square (not shown).

Channel separation (not shown) was excellent, at >100dB in both directions below 2kHz and still 78dB at 20kHz. The amplifier’s noise floor, assessed with the input shorted but the volume control set to its maximum, was also fairly low in level. The unweighted, wideband S/N ratio (ref. 2.83V into 8 ohms) was a good 73.3 and 74.8dB for both channels from the 8

and 4 ohm taps, respectively. The audioband ratios were 5 and 3dB better, while A-weighting the measurement gave 89dB from the 8 ohm tap and 90dB from the 4 ohm tap.

Plotting the THD+noise percentage in the VSi60’s output against power revealed that the distortion began to rise above the noise floor at levels above 1–2W from the 8 ohm tap (fig.3), and at levels above 500mW–1W from the 4 ohm tap (fig.4). The linear increase above those levels before actual waveform clipping suggests that the circuit uses a low amount of loop negative feedback (Audio Research quotes just 7dB). ARC specifies the VSi60’s maximum power at 1.5% THD. The amplifier exceeds that specifica-tion from the 8 ohm tap into 8 ohms, with 53Wpc available (17.25dBW) at 1% THD, though only 44W (13.4dBW) were available from the 4 ohm tap into 4 ohms at 1% THD. The amplifier did meet its 50W specification

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Fig.2 Audio Research VSi60, 8 ohm tap, small-signal 10kHz squarewave into 8 ohms.

the rich, glorious, uncolored, holographic midrange of the Vsi60 made it A NATURAL MATCh FOR WELL-RECORDED VOICES.

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from Count Basie’s 88 Basie Street (CD, Pab-lo/JVC JVCXR 0021-2), burst into the room without a hint of compression or smear. I then analyzed Mark Flynn’s drumming in “Fruit Forward,” from my quartet Attention Screen’s Live at Merkin Hall (CD, Stereophile STPH018-2): All of his subtle dynamic swirls and heaving crescendos were reproduced as I’ve heard them through more powerful amps, and as I heard it onstage during that concert. From my notes: “Full weight. It’s missing nothing!” On the rock front, Bruce Katz’s Hammond B3 solo in “Too Proud,” from Mighty Sam McClain’s Give It Up to Love (CD, AudioQuest/JVC JVCXR 0012-2), was captured with all his subtle dynamic phrasing intact, even as the bass guitar and drums did some high-level slamming in the background.

Where the ARC VSi60 fell a bit short was in full-throated, densely orchestrated fortissimo passages in large classical works. The massed Oregon Bach Festival Orches-tra and Choir rarely exceeded mezzo-forte in the loudest passages of the opening move-ment of Helmut Rilling’s recording of Pen-derecki’s Credo (CD, Hänssler CD 98.311),

and there were traces of compression and smearing. I hadn’t heard this compression of dynamics when my Alón Circes were driv-en by more powerful amplifiers. And even though, in the loud passages of Antal Dorati and the London Symphony’s recording of Stravinsky’s The Firebird (CD, Mercury Liv-ing Presence SR 90226), the bass drum was reproduced with perfectly clean shudder and bottom-end depth, I felt there was a bit of tension in the upper midrange in the loudest and densest passages.

With every recording I played, the VSi60 reproduced all transients with flawless speed and articulation and no trace of smear or hardness. Christopher Thomas’s machine-gun snare action in the frantic instrumen-tal interludes of “Cousins,” from Vampire Weekend’s Contra (CD, XL XLCD429), was reproduced in all its rapid-fire glory with the transient envelope of each drum stroke perfectly intact. For a slower drum show-case, Ringo Starr’s delicate tom-tom action in “Come Together,” from the Beatles’ Abbey Road (CD, Apple 382468 2), was reproduced with perfectly paced, linear dynamics. easily revealing all the percussive subtleties on this

superb remastered release. The combina-tion of the ARC’s dynamic articulation and transient resolution shone in Charles Wuo-rinen’s arresting reading of his own Ringing Changes for Percussion Ensemble, with the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble (LP, Nonesuch H71263). The broad range of timbres of the various instruments reproduced here were perfectly placed on a wide, deep soundstage, each instrument entirely separable from the rest, even in the densest passages. With the ARC, there was no trace of coagulation.

The VSi60 unraveled an extraordinary amount of detail from all recordings, at a level I’ve heard only from amplifiers costing into five figures. I found myself analyzing flutist Carol Wincenc’s playing on Tomiko Kohjiba’s Transmigration of the Soul, from the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival’s Festival (CD, Stereophile STPH007-2). Her breath-ing technique, all of her flute’s upper partials, and her phrasing in pianissimo passages were as captivating as I’ve heard with any other amplifier. As I analyzed the ARC’s repro-duction of this entire work, which by now I’ve practically memorized (John Atkinson was kind enough to provide me with a copy

(14dBW) from the 4 ohm tap at 6% THD; however, the 0.6dB shortfall in power will be inconsequential.

Provided the speaker load is equal to or greater than the nominal value of the VSi60’s output transformer tap, the distortion at a level equivalent to 5W into 8 ohms remains below 0.1% in the midrange and below (fig.5, 8 ohm tap; fig.6, 4 ohm tap), though with a rise in THD in the upper audio octaves. The distortion is predominantly the subjectively innocuous low-order harmonics, even at moderate power levels (figs. 7 and 8). However, fig.8 indicates that the amplifier’s power supply is working hard, with the fundamental and third-order harmonics of the 60Hz AC power frequency almost as high in level as the distortion harmonics, particularly in the right channel (fig.8, red trace). The 120Hz component lies at –96dB in this graph (0.0015%), suggesting that the circuit benefits from optimal grounding.

These odd-order power-supply harmonics led to sidebands to either side

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Fig.6 Audio Research VSi60, 4 ohm tap, THD+N (%) vs frequency at 3.9V into: 16 ohms (green), 8 ohms (blue), 4 ohms (red), 2 ohms (magenta).

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Fig.5 Audio Research VSi60, 8 ohm tap, THD+N (%) vs frequency at 6.3V into: 16 ohms (green), 8 ohms (blue), 4 ohms (red), 2 ohms (magenta).

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of the score), I compared it with its sound through the many more expensive amps I’ve heard, and concluded that the VSi60 wasn’t missing a damn thing.

The ARC made me want to compare various recordings. I began by analyzing saxophonist Sonny Rollins’ playing on “Pan-nonica,” from Thelonious Monk’s Brilliant Corners (45rpm LP, Riverside/Analogue Productions RLP-2226), and felt he sound-ed much more boisterous and not nearly as mellow as he did on “I’m an Old Cowhand,” from his own Way Out West (CD, Contem-porary/JVC VICJ60088). The VSi60 made these differences quite apparent.

I then compared two mid-1960s folk-rock albums from the same label and noticed how easily the ARC delineated the differ-ences between the engineering of the voices. On “Morning Morning,” from Richie Ha-vens’ Mixed Bag (LP, Verve Forecast 3006), Havens’ voice is rich, deep, and vibrant, with just the right amount of reverb added to give a touch of syrup to his rusty growl. (I get a kick out of the fact that my favorite mel-low ballad on this album is a Fugs tune.) On the other hand, the musically superb “So-

ciety’s Child,” from Janis Ian’s eponymous debut album (LP, Verve Folkways 3017), is a sonic disaster, and the ARC revealed it as such. The excessive studio reverb on Ian’s edgy voice makes her sound as if she was recorded in a water tank. (Can you imagine this 15-year-old kid going into the studio to record her first album and saying, “Okay, I

want a Hammond B3 and a harpsichord on this tune”?)

ComparisonsI compared the VSi60 with my Creek Des-tiny integrated amplifier ($2500), as well as to my AudioValve Eclipse line stage and ARC Reference 110, linked by an MIT Magnum M3 balanced interconnect (com-bined prices now $20,000). As I’d expected,

the Creek did fairly well, with an uncolored midrange and tight, deep, extended bass. However, the VSi60 had superior resolution of detail, articulation of low-level dynamics, and retrieval of ambience, and its highs were far more extended and airy. I also felt it was easier for the ARC to differentiate among instruments.

Stepping up to the higher-priced Audio Valve–MIT–ARC rig, it was immediately clear that the VSi60 was cut from the same sonic cloth as the Reference 110. They shared the same clear, extended, pristine highs, superb transient articulation, and re-trieval of detail. The more expensive combo did reveal more detail, low-level dynamics, and ambience, but the difference wasn’t as dramatic as I’d expected. There was a

of the two signal components in the spectrum of the VSi60’s output while it reproduced an equal mix of 19 and 20kHz tones at a level close to visual clipping on the oscilloscope screen (fig.9). As anticipated from the circuit’s decreasing linearity in the top audio octave, the 1kHz difference tone in this graph is moderately high in level, at –60dB (0.1%), and reaches –50dB (0.3%) at 19W peak from the 4 ohm tap into 4 ohms (not shown). The higher-order intermodulation products are all lower in level, however.

To a large extent, the Audio Research VSi60’s measurements are much as I would have expected from a tube amplifier using a single pair of 6550 output tubes per channel, with low loop negative feedback, and offering the sizes of power supply and output transformers that are possible at its price. But it’s nicely engineered for all that. just make sure you use the ap-propriate output transformer tap for your loudspeakers. —John Atkinson

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Fig.9 Audio Research VSi60, 8 ohm tap, HF intermodulation spectrum, DC–24kHz, 19+20kHz at 25W peak into 8 ohms (linear frequency scale).

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the Vsi60 unraVeled an extraordinary amount of de-tail from all recordings, at A LEVEL I’VE hEARD ONLy FROM AMPLIFIERS COSTINg INTO FIVE FIgURES.

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greater sense of openness and ease with the more powerful Reference 110; I never felt it was working hard, even with the most de-manding material. And with larger orchestral works, the Reference 110 never displayed the compression in fortissimos that I heard with the VSi60.

The biggest surprise was in the bass. When I compared the Reference 110 to my old ARC VT100 Mk.II in my review of the Ref 110 in the August 2007 Stereophile (see www.stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/807ar), I thought both amps had superb bass, but that the Ref 110 had just a slight touch of warmth in the midbass that the older amp lacked. Well, over a wide range of recordings, I felt that the VSi60 bettered the Audio Valve/Ref 110 combo in every aspect of bass articula-tion and definition. But this made no sense to me. Why would a higher-powered amp with a similar circuit topology, bigger transform-ers, and better parts produce a bottom end slightly inferior to that of the baby integrated, especially when the Ref 110 was coupled with a line stage and interconnect both re-nowned for kick-slammin’ low end? Could it be that the mere elimination of an active line stage and a set of interconnects removes a layer of impurity in the signal path that re-sults in superior bass definition? Could ARC be telling us that we no longer need a separate active line stage?1

At the end of this comparison, I shook my

head. Why was I bothering with a separate line stage if this integrated is such a high-lev-el performer? I seriously pondered a scenario in which I would sell my Audio Valve–MIT–ARC rig, buy the review sample of the VSi60, and use the leftover cash to buy my wife a new barbecue grill. What stopped me from doing so was not the VSi60’s sound, but an equipment reviewer’s need to have a

separate line stage and power amp in order to review a broad range of electronics.

PayoffIn the VSi60, Audio Research has produced an integrated amplifier of staggering quality, versatility, and value. It should be considered not only by anyone seeking an integrated amp anywhere near its price, but also by anyone shopping for a separate tubed line stage and power amplifier together costing upwards of $10,000. That person could then use the resulting savings to buy better speak-ers, or maybe even a kickass, Fremer-quality analog front end.

I felt sad when I packed up the VSi60 to ship it back to ARC. I didn’t want to see it leave—the first time that’s happened in 25 years of reviewing audio gear. This captivat-ing and enticing little dream of an amp is a sleeper. Look for it. Ignore its power rating, kick back, and listen to its magic. nn

1 Apparently not. Audio Research has just released their Refer-ence Anniversary line stage ($24,995), which, Warren Gehl tells me, is the most significant product ARC has ever developed. He claims its sound quality is an order of magnitude (ie, 10 times) higher than that of their current top line stage, the Reference 5 ($11,995).

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENTANALOg SOURCE VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge.DIgITAL SOURCE Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players.PREAMPLIFICATION Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, AudioValve eclipse line stage.POWER AMPLIFIER Audio Research Reference 110.LOUDSPEAKERS Alón Circe.CABLES Interconnect: MIT Magnum M3 & MI-350 CVTwin Terminator. Speaker: Acar-ian Systems Black Orpheus.ACCESSORIES Various by ASC, Bright Star, Simply Physics, Sound Anchor, VPI. —Robert J.

Reina

in the Vsi60, audio research has produced an INTE-gRATED AMPLIFIER OF STAggERINg QUALITy, VERSATILITy, AND VALUE.

A U D I O R E S E A R C h VS i 6 0

Posted with permission from the September 2010 issue of Stereophile ® www.stereophile.com. Copyright 2010 Source Interlink Media. All rights reserved.For more information about the use of this content, contact Wright’s Media at 877-652-5295

69982

HIGHDEFINITIONwant the naturalness and High Definition® of Audio Research with-out the periodic maintenance required by vacuum-tube designs,these models represent a logicalchoice. The two approaches–a tubepreamplifier with a solid-state power amplifier, for example–canalso be combined for musically excellent results.

A professional worldwide network of retailers and importers.Audio Research components areavailable only through specificallyauthorized, independent specialtyretailers and importers on everycontinent. Warranty service, productsupport for older models and expertadvice is available throughout thisinternational network of highly experienced professionals. Most esoteric brands lack this depth ofsupport for their products.

We never stop listening.From the in-house listening panelthat works hand-in-hand with our engineers in the developmentof new products, to our dedicatedspecialists who listen to each andevery Audio Research product asthe final step in our comprehensiveQuality Assurance process, the human ear continues to be the mostimportant test equipment used atAudio Research. Even decades-oldmodels sent in for service or resto-ration are thoroughly listened to in a reference music system beforethey are cleared for return to theireager owners.Listening is always the first and last step in bringing music loverslasting value.

Research components earn loyaltyfrom customers and high resale value in the used market.

A single, superior level of manufacturing quality.Many so-called “high end” audiomanufactures are actually market-ing and distribution companies whouse outside subcontractors formuch, if not all of the assembly andtesting of their products. That's notgood enough for Audio Research,where one hundred percent of allassembly, soldering and testing isdone in-house by our own highlytrained, experienced craftspeople.From least to most costly, every Audio Research model is designedand manufactured to a uniform level of exacting quality. Rugged,beautifully finished alloy chassiscomponents, audiophile grade con-nectors, and heavily-plated circuitboards, carefully selected resistors,capacitors and other sonically critical components from leadingspecialists around the world are thehallmarks of every Audio Researchmodel. The main differences lie inconvenience features, number andtype of control functions, input/out-put configuration and size of powersupplies. Regardless of which AudioResearch model you choose, youare assured of unparalleled buildquality and uncompromised HighDefinition® performance.

Vacuum-tube or solid-state,the goal is the same.Though renowned for its many suc-cessful vacuum-tube based designs,Audio Research also prides itself onstate-of-the-art solid-state modelsthat have musicality as their firstpriority. For those music lovers who

For more than thirty years, Audio Research has repeated-ly set the standard for accura-

cy and dynamic realism in music reproduction systems. More thanany other manufacturer, Audio Research has advanced the state ofthe art again and again with prod-ucts that innovate by bringingrecorded music collections to lifewith new vibrancy and immediacy,with new source media and old. This achievement has been recog-nized by audio reviewers the worldover, year after year, making AudioResearch components among themost highly valued on the market,whether new or old. Audio Researchis an investment in sound technol-ogy and value that lasts a lifetime.

An unmatched record forproduct support.Audio Research takes pride in stocking a vast (and costly) array ofelectronic parts and componentsnecessary to support the entirerange of products it has manufac-tured over the last three decades.The company maintains a highlytrained technical staff dedicatedsolely to the servicing and restora-tion of older models, as well as to the maintenance of products covered by the company's ThreeYear Limited Warranty. Any oldermodel bearing the Audio Researchmarque can be restored to originalfactory performance specifications.In addition, a complete inventory ofselected and tested vacuum tubesneeded for each model is available,assuring the Audio Research ownerof quality vacuum tubes and bestperformance. Support like this is an important reason why Audio

3900 Annapolis Lane North / Plymouth, Minnesota 55447-5447 / PHONE: 763-577-9700 FAX: 763-577-0323Visit us at http: //www.audioresearch.com

The Audio Research Legacy

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