ARC is freakin expensive.

[Mouse]

ARC is very expensive.
I love the sound, at least the few times I've heard an Audio Research system.
I even contemplate buying a setup for my office. Then I saw the prices, roughly triple the cost of Mc!

Can you name some brands that have a similar realistic life-like sound?

I could get the integrated, but it seems rather limited at 75 watts.

[Mikado463]

Mouse, very expensive ? , triple the cost ?? you have not given us any examples ......myself I think their 'Foundation' series offers great value.

[Mouse]

Audio Research Reference Phono 10 Phono Preamplifier=30K

Mc MP1100=10K
Mc MP100=2K

GSI75 Integrated amp (75w)=16K?
Mc MA252 (100w)=3,500

REFERENCE 150SE (150w)=15K
Mc MC152 (150w)= 4,500
May god forbid I want something greater than 150 watts, because it seems like ARC goes to monoblocks at 15K-30K for each monoblock.



ARC doesn't seem to publish a price list, so it's hard to find pricing and a full product line. But when I look around the preamps and amps seem to be double to triple the price.

[Antonmb]

Originally Posted by Mouse

ARC doesn't seem to publish a price list, so it's hard to find pricing and a full product line.

Mouse, check this site for specs and prices on ARC gear. http://www.arcdb.ws

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

Mouse, check this site for specs and prices on ARC gear. http://www.arcdb.ws

I checked out that website and looked at the REF750 monoblock. $27,500 each

The damping factor is 17 (seventeen).

How come nobody complains about that, yet people are quick to complain about Mc damping factors not being high enough when they are considerably higher than the ARC?

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by GaryProtein

I checked out that website and looked at the REF750 monoblock. $27,500 each

The damping factor is 17 (seventeen).

How come nobody complains about that, yet people are quick to complain about Mc damping factors not being high enough when they are considerably higher than the ARC?

I do not know what is the damping factor of the REF250 monoblocks, but even used with a LS27 preamp, the sound on Wilson Sasha was very boring and flat. The MC601's were much more involving and alive.
I strongly disagree with some of the comments above stating that ARC and McIntosh do not match well. Imho, ARC preamps are superb and sound better than Mc preamps. But McIntosh is head and shoulders above ARC when it comes to power amps.
I have quite a few friends who use an ARC preamp with Mc power. The synergy is stunning.

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by Jerome W

I do not know what is the damping factor of the REF250 monoblocks, but even used with a LS27 preamp, the sound on Wilson Sasha was very boring and flat. The MC601's were much more involving and alive.
I strongly disagree with some of the comments above stating that ARC and McIntosh do not match well. Imho, ARC preamps are superb and sound better than Mc preamps. But McIntosh is head and shoulders above ARC when it comes to power amps.
I have quite a few friends who use an ARC preamp with Mc power. The synergy is stunning.

Damping factor of the REF250 is 10 (TEN) Can you believe it's so low?

The specs are all here: http://www.arcdb.ws

[Mouse]

Also ARC is hard to demo.
I have a great dealer nearby that has one ARC rig. I don't remember which one it is, but it sounds lively with even small stand mounted speakers.
I also heard an ARC setup at RMAF with SF O3 speakers and it sounds amazing. I still don't remember what system it is.
I've only heard ARC twice, but each time I remembered music being more exciting, more emotional, more moving. The sound curve seems to be more pleasant to my ears. The bass and mids seems to be stronger than my Mc, but without A/B testing with the same speakers I really don't know for sure how Mc and ARC compare in sound. All I know is I heard some really high end stuff from moon and focal speakers and all I heard was meh; flat and lifeless. It could be the room, it could be that the speakers weren't placed right or broken in, but I've really liked focal at RMAF.

I'm not able to hear all the ARC systems and choose for myself. I get to "special order" with no refunds.

[metaphacts]

Originally Posted by Mouse

Also ARC is hard to demo.
I have a great dealer nearby that has one ARC rig. I don't remember which one it is, but it sounds lively with even small stand mounted speakers.
I also heard an ARC setup at RMAF with SF O3 speakers and it sounds amazing. I still don't remember what system it is.
I've only heard ARC twice, but each time I remembered music being more exciting, more emotional, more moving. The sound curve seems to be more pleasant to my ears. The bass and mids seems to be stronger than my Mc, but without A/B testing with the same speakers I really don't know for sure how Mc and ARC compare in sound. All I know is I heard some really high end stuff from moon and focal speakers and all I heard was meh; flat and lifeless. It could be the room, it could be that the speakers weren't placed right or broken in, but I've really liked focal at RMAF.

I'm not able to hear all the ARC systems and choose for myself. I get to "special order" with no refunds.

Great dealer? With one system on display? And no guidance on what you should be considering for your needs? Have you tried to discuss the ARC line with him? And his guidance was "special order" with no refunds? If you are not leaving out some important details of your experience, this is hardly a great dealer.

Where are you located? There are many dealers around the world who have multiple ARC systems on display. Given the relationship ARC have with Sonus faber, some dealers would likely be able to play the Olympica 3 with ARC for you.

[Mouse]

Originally Posted by metaphacts

Great dealer? With one system on display? And no guidance on what you should be considering for your needs? Have you tried to discuss the ARC line with him? And his guidance was "special order" with no refunds? If you are not leaving out some important details of your experience, this is hardly a great dealer.

Where are you located? There are many dealers around the world who have multiple ARC systems on display. Given the relationship ARC have with Sonus faber, some dealers would likely be able to play the Olympica 3 with ARC for you.

Great? Ok, better than the competition here.
One ARC system on display. The other guy that carries ARC doesn't actually have ARC in the showroom.
Plenty of guidance, but without the pieces in my face and playing sounds for my ears it's all irrelevant.
his guidance on ARC wasn't no refunds, it's just on the receipt copy, "No refunds on special orders." I bought something else before that they don't stock and he offered to take it back if I don't like it because he could use it in their showroom, I didn't chat about returns on special orders.
The dealer is great except he's small with the following problems: limited showroom, no returns.

I live in Denver, CO.
I have Soundings which I prefer lately and I have Listen Up.
From my experience, my guy at Soundings is more knowledgeable, less opinionated, better at arranging demos with what they have, and offers loaners on nearly anything they sell. I was told to try new XLR cables by some on this forum to troubleshoot noise, they took a pair off of their flagship system because I wanted to hear Nordost. They've been willing to demo in-home a few pieces I've wanted which I bought. They troubleshooted partly some of my noise problems before I bought a thing. These guys LOVE music, would let me sit on their couch for an hour demoing their stuff, they enjoy to demo so much that it's me running out of time, instead of them getting bored.

By contrast Listen Up to this day still will not demo any cable, even worse I had a defective XLR cable and they wouldn't loan me one while mine was getting sent off for repair under warranty. I've asked to demo some subs and out of three times I've never had a proper demo there. In home demos are de facto forbidden. I've asked a few times and they said ok that they will, but they never did because they didn't want to disconnect the power supply, they wouldn't haul a sub. I was told all the noise I was getting was normal, while AA and Soundings taught me how to eliminate it. To this day I've never heard the MB100 despite asking several times. To make matters worse I caught my Listen Up salesman trying to photograph the serial numbers on the SVS subs I didn't buy from him, because he wouldn't demo them. Listen Up is a huge store here, and they have a lot of good brands. While you've read my rant there is plenty of good stuff to say about the company too. They'll even return a special order.

Best Buy? They're kind of a sad joke in the audiophile industry. They gave me a taste of Mc and SF, and just as quickly they lost my interest. $100 bucks for them to come to the house to make recommendations. Against my better judgement I pay $100 and the guy shows up, smart as a whip and takes his time with me, he promises a list of products that match what I'm looking for. It never happens. I can't email him or call him as I don't have his business card. I go back in a month later and no one knows who he is. I lose $100 and get nothing out the deal.