ARC: Out of receivership

[PeterMusic]

Originally Posted by George Prentice

This whole thing has nothing to do with product lines or specific designs. Trent saw a huge opportunity to spring ARC from the company holding them and MAC, and if I remember correctly Sonus Faber. He was able to scrape the money together to buy it, but just barely.

Tube shortages and increase in interest rates made them unable to meet their debt obligation… which was only a bit over a $1M. This has nothing to do with product lines or it’s viability as a business. It is about how the company was purchased and cash flow. That is it.

Thanks, George. I am a serial entrepreneur and investor, and I usually read statements like the first paragraph as PR baloney. I was "certain" it was ineptitude that destroyed them. But your second paragraph is a great explanation of how even a well run company with great product could have been crushed by covid.

[jpgr4blu]

I had enough faith in ARC to send my Ref160Ms in for an update to Mk2 while ARC was in receivership. I always felt that a combination of Covid related issues and lack of deep pockets which were necessary during that time and in the aftermath caused ARC's problems---not the products. The staff there was friendly (as always) and communicative at every step including when fedex lost one of the monos for about 1 month delaying the upgrade. ARC is clearly in the customer's corner when it comes to making sure the customer is happy. The amps were shipped out to me late last week and I look forward to hearing them next week.

[lem321]

George,

Thank you for posting your insight into some of the factors that may have contributed to the recent financial crises at Audio Research. It amazes me that there have been so many naysayers ready to pounce on a legendary brand when it was down. (What's up with that?!). Certainly, there were issues with operations and financial stability but environmental factors outside the control of ARC (e.g. the Ukraine war affecting the availability of Russian tubes and inflationary pressures driving up interest rates, not to mention the pandemic) were also to blame.

Let's give the new owners and management team some breathing room to right the ship before we do the post-mortem.

[Still-One]

My dealer met with the new owner last week and came away the impression that the future looks stable.

[djcxxx]

https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=48515

Interesting read in current context.

[George Prentice]

I had a friend purchase his first high end components… the foundation preamp and amp mid receivership. He received them in about two weeks. Great sounding audio equipment.

I don’t understand the attacks on ARC either.

But then I remember the 1980’s when financial types found out that old companies owned land and buildings that by law were held on the books at a tiny proportion of their value… and by buying the company and destroying it, they would make the buyers wealthy… but destroy good solid companies… throwing out the management and workers who were doing a great job. One of the downsides of capitalism… small companies may not be fully in charge of their own fate.

I am really sorry that Trent failed. I hold in my hand the best remote that ARC has ever made… for the Reference 6SE that I bought that came with a cheap plastic one. I complained to him and he was already working on a replacement that he promised t give me for my preamp and Phonostage. I got them both a few months ago. They are beautiful.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by George Prentice

I had a friend purchase his first high end components… the foundation preamp and amp mid receivership. He received them in about two weeks. Great sounding audio equipment.

I don’t understand the attacks on ARC either.

But then I remember the 1980’s when financial types found out that old companies owned land and buildings that by law were held on the books at a tiny proportion of their value… and by buying the company and destroying it, they would make the buyers wealthy… but destroy good solid companies… throwing out the management and workers who were doing a great job. One of the downsides of capitalism… small companies may not be fully in charge of their own fate.

I am really sorry that Trent failed. I hold in my hand the best remote that ARC has ever made… for the Reference 6SE that I bought that came with a cheap plastic one. I complained to him and he was already working on a replacement that he promised t give me for my preamp and Phonostage. I got them both a few months ago. They are beautiful.

Cool Beans! 😎

[djcxxx]

ARC, Wilson, and McIntosh have one particular thing in common—-Internet forum haters.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by djcxxx

ARC, Wilson, and McIntosh have one particular thing in common—-Internet forum haters.

Unfortunately true, but not here.

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by George Prentice

I don’t understand the attacks on ARC either.

Jealousy.