I’ve had an AR VSI 60 for 10 or 12 years. It can be a touch cold, but it’s transparent, 3D, and has strong and fast bass compared to other tube amps (in my experience.)
I’m so gun shy from the all the problems with this amp over the years, I rarely hook it up. It’s expensive to get repaired and KT120s are hard to come by these days.
I didn’t even consider Audio Research, before I bought a Primaluna EVO 300 last year. If a tube goes bad with that amp, a light comes on. If a tube goes bad on the AR, the amp burns up internal parts that have to be replaced.
This is my second Primaluna, I have an original Dialogue Premium that’s never had any issues. The AR sounds a little more HiFi, but I trust the primalunas and enjoy rolling tubes.
There has to be lots of people out there with similar stories. My VSI 60 wasn’t designed to be dependable. (My opinion) That’s not a recipe for success.