ARC of the past compared to today
 

As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of the older ARC D series...particularly the D70's and the D115 and of course, the M100's. As an owner of a D70Mk2, I believe it is one of WZJ's masterpieces and would not trade it for most any other low-medium powered tube amp. Today we have the newer Ref series, the closest to the D70 Mk2 being the Ref 75 and SE version. These new amps are certainly great sounding, but are they really that much better than the amps from what I...and many others, consider the 'golden age' of ARC,--The D series!

How far have we come in circuit design and overall SQ from that 'golden age'??
BTW, please don't jump to conclusions unless you have actually heard both series..or an earlier series not mentioned.

I wish I could hear the d70. Never have! I've often wondered how those older designs, especially preamps, hold up to the latest.

I don't think there are any revolutionary circuit designs today. Look thru the design manuals of the 30's and you will find every circuit configuration imaginable. Maybe the application of solid state regulation in power supply design is new and innovative. Certainly the improvement in resistor and cap technology has been revolutionary.

I remember the D76-A being a highly sought after amp, with wonderful mids and highs.

I have been a long time owner and supporter of Audio Research thanks to a friend in the 70's that had the M 100 amps. I always enjoyed the sound they produced in his system. However, I must admit that the new generation of their amps do sound really good. I used them at the store to audition and eventually purchase my Wilson speakers. I guess the term would be the older amps were more "romantic" in their midrange and treble presentation. I also feel the newer amps have better bass reproduction. Just my opinion.

davey, I concur. As another WZJ disciple I think there has been more 'window dressing' of late. Yet as my ears get older my judging skills diminish and with that being said I think Mark Obrien and his crew @ Rogue Audio remind me of what ARC was 'back in the day'.

My vote for the most underrated tube amplifiers goes here ........

http://www.rogueaudio.com/Products_ApolloDark.htm

The D150


http://www.arcdb.ws/D150/D150.html

The D-150 is a real beauty. I'd love to own one.

Yep. Every now and then one pops up on Ebay!

Hi Davey ,

I've heard the D70MK 2 and its more powerful siblings the D115MK2 & D250 MK 2 Servo w/c I reluctantly sold last year. Both more powerful amps are no match to the purity of the mids of the D70MK2 . I was able to compare my D79B ( 75w/ch ) and the D70 MK2 . In my system back in the day w/ the SP10Mk2 + D79B vs the D70MK2 w/ the same preamp the ,D79B easily trounced the D70 , the mids are more liquid w/ a powerful bass and it was more dynamic because of the enormous power supply 550 joules compared to the D70's 140 joules. The speakers that we used back in the day was a Spica TC50 & a VIENNA acoustic Bach speakers. The REF 75's inspiration was the D79. Ive listened to it already & indeed it has the best mids compared to the other REF series. Ive not compared it yet to my D79B's . Im planning to recapped ( replaced all the 21 filter capacitors) of both my D79's and when this happens will bring my amp to my friend who owns a REF 75 and we can make a comparison.
By the way I've listened to my D79B driving a Sonus Faber Concertino MK1 and the combination sounds sublime !

Best regards,

Tdh888

Interesting that you mention your D79B as being preferred to the D70Mk2. My experience with the two amps...albeit it has been a few years since I heard the D79B, is different. I remember thinking that the D79B was far less resolving than the D70Mk2 and also somewhat veiled in comparison, we were using Acoustat 6's at the time, if I remember. The friend who owned the D79B...later upgraded to a D79C and felt that was a nice upswing in SQ. We did not compare the D79C to the D70Mk2, but I would suspect it still would be lacking in the resolution department. Perhaps the transformers have something to do with this or?? The larger power supply is only part of the equation when it comes to dynamics, I'm sure the trannies have something to do with it as well.
Anyhow, will be interesting to see how you compare the D79B to the newer Ref75.