ARC in receivership

[Masterlu]

[cleeds]

A lot of unanswered questions remain. The matter is still before the court and a hearing has been set for June 7, according to court records.

[George Prentice]

I have been following this since the receivership. I have communicated with Trent since he bought the company… a great guy, wanting to build an even greater company. I hold two great, solid remotes in my hand that he had designed and given to purchasers of REF 6SE preamps, and REF 3 phono stages after I received cheap plastic remotes with my purchases. He completely agreed that they did not reflect the quality of the ARC gear and image. He had them designed and built after their supplier of their metal remotes stopped making them.

I am so sorry that Trent lost the company… but he bought it largely with debt… then the interest rates took off, and the Russian invasion increased tube prices. Honestly, managing a $71M company as CEO is not easy in the best of times… I have been in the executive suite in global high tech companies working under the CEO for most of my career (quite a number failed). Trent was some kind of athlete for a couple decades and sales manager in the audio industry. Heart completely in the right place… so it goes.

The product lines have been shaped by their formerly being subsidiaries with Mac and Sonus Faber. Mac was seen as the gateway to Audio Research… so they did not develop the full product lines to support buying in at low levels. Hopefully that will change. I have heard good things about the new owners.

Maybe some ask, does Audio Research have something special? I have been building my system since 1972… when I was in college. I have worked at it throughout my life. I started with a used ARC preamp in 1980, and a Phonostage a few years later. I have heard the big Wilson’s, and heavy hardware. But, some of my fondest memories were time i spent with Audio Research gear (CJ & VACs also), but I could not possibly afford it. After retiring I was finally able to buy all ARC Reference gear… for my large audio room with accidentally good acoustics. i have had both REF160s and REF160m monoblocks for the last 3 years. It has been such a revelation… like some of the instruments in graduate school… able to reproduce nuances of real natural sound I never thought possible. I understand the draw to big solid state amps and holographic imaging… but when a system connects directly to the emotional center of your being… all the slam and detail is simply superfluous. Yes, Audio Research has something very special.

[cleeds]

Originally Posted by George Prentice

... I have heard good things about the new owners ...

That is good to know. ARC should be promoting its new owners, because it looks to me like the company is still in receivership.

[cleeds]

Here is an excellent update on the status of Audio Research Corp. It sounds like good news.

[PeterMusic]

Originally Posted by cleeds

Here is an excellent update on the status of Audio Research Corp. It sounds like good news.

AWESOME! This is extraordinarily good news--owners who love hifi (as opposed to owners who love $), and obvious synergies between the two companies that should help both lines on both the revenue and cost sides of the business

[djcxxx]

TAS posted Fremer touring ARC showing that it’s still business as usual. The vibe in the video, in my view, is that of low level activity in a holding pattern awaiting direction, organization, and key personnel. I did not find the video encouraging which clearly was its intent. There was little vitality evident.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hZWfULX9pC0&feature=share

[jpgr4blu]

To my understanding, Michael's tour was after regular business hours which is why few employees seemed to be there.

[cleeds]

Originally Posted by jpgr4blu

To my understanding, Michael's tour was after regular business hours which is why few employees seemed to be there.

ARC previously reported it had 23 employees and Dave Gordon mentioned in the video that they'd just had a new hire. So the whole company has only 24 employees.

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by cleeds

ARC previously reported it had 23 employees and Dave Gordon mentioned in the video that they'd just had a new hire. So the whole company has only 24 employees.

Fairly large by high-end stereo company standards. If memory serves, VPI has in low teens for employees and about 4-5000 sqft of space. BAT has 4 or 5 employees and maybe 2500sqft. Makes me wonder if any high-end company is larger than McIntosh.