Price Increase
 

ARC has announced a price increase effective July 1st. Not sure how much of an increase that will be.

For those on the fence - now is the time!

goof time for them to do this given the state of affairs

vitruvius... Welcome to AA! :wave:

thanks

They usually do a 10 - 15 % increase from what I saw in the past years but these are different times so maybe more as they lost lots of sales this year due to covid

COVID really did not cost them orders per se. Deliveries were limited early-mid year by mandated closures but demand for ARC products continued to build, not fall.

ARC is under new ownership. Great things (imo) are coming. The REF80s has already been released. Stay tuned for the next wave. It's a great time to be an ARC fan,

I am inclined to agree. The new owner has the background to understand the brand and its successful formula. As an independent entity, it can focus on its core qualities without corporate distraction or interference. While I think ARC fared rather well under McIntosh ownership, the parent clearly had its own values it imposed on ARC, such as the cosmetic changes it introduced.

I hear from the dealers I know that they had record sales last year.
People couldn't travel, dine out,...
So those audiophiles with jobs that weren't affected by Covid spent more on their hobby it seems.

Price increases are needed for future R&D dollars that were lost with their departure from McIntosh. Many think that ARC will do better without the bigger corporate umbrella, but I think it'll be more challenging for them to acquire and retain the best engineering, design, and marketing minds without the $$ benefit of that umbrella. I already considered the majority of their items to be overpriced, even for a U.S. built product. I'm hoping that they can somehow add more value to their products that differentiates themselves more from the competition.

That's very likely mistaken. Most large companies run their subsidiaries using the profit center concept. If anything, separating from Mac may offer some lower costs, e.g. ARC won't have to spend $$$ on a fancy Italian designer, fancy casework and custom knobs.
ARC operated as an independent company for decades, so it seems to me that the template for its success is pretty well established.

I've owned ARC gear for more than 40 years. It's true that it's always been expensive, but it seems to me the company has always offered excellent value.