Audio Research in Receivership.

Supply chain issue as someone mentioned may have contributed to the demise of ARC.  The Russian-Ukrainian war probably had significant impact on availability and price of tubes that ARC was dependent on.  

daveyf

Hopefully, this is a Chapter 11 ( re-organization) vs. Chapter 7 ( full liquidation and closure) ...

It is neither right now. What the company seeks is receivership, which could mean liquidation, but it could also mean a structured sale is in the works. There’s no way to tell without inside information. It’s possible the court or creditors could oppose the receivership, which could force ARC into bankruptcy.

@fsonicsmith1 Going all- in with KT150’s was a mistake? IMO, this tube is pretty superior sounding ( depending on the circuit) to the older KT88’s, 6550’s and even the KT120’s. ARC was always looking for the way forward, which meant going to the latest tubes and designing around them.

OTOH, if ARC are continuing to have reliability issues, ( I was unaware of this), then that would indeed be an area of concern.

I own and love ARC but as I have said before, their decision to go all-in with the KT-150 was a mistake. Likely only one of fifty or more but still a mistake. The labor-intensive hand assembly of every circuit board and component here in the US did not help. Reported reliability issues had to hurt. As just one example, my Ref 150 SE which I purchased new in 2017 has a design problem with in-rush current on start-up. It is not a question of if, but when, as to the input fuse blowing and taking the board out with it. The successor 160M, 160S, and 80S implemented a relay-circuit with soft-start. A bit too late imho. It is my understanding they were tough on dealers with all types of rules and restrictions and their dealer network eroded as a result. It will be interesting to see that else gets revealed but as I said, I am sure it a widespread litany of problems. 

Hopefully, this is a Chapter 11 ( re-organization) vs. Chapter 7 ( full liquidation and closure). However, it certainly looks like the latter. Apparently there is a long list of un-paid creditors!

With some luck, I am hoping that another entity will step in and keep them afloat..and alive. This company has made some truly excellent products over the years. Very sad to hear about their travails.

Nothing is tragic or negative. Everyone is aging and at some point of life one may sometimes need retirement and rest.

Very sorry to read about this.  The times they are a changing. 

Equally surprising that ARC is (apparently) going down and hardly no one here is taking notice!

Regards,

barts  

As of today "only" 54 ARC pieces for sale on Agon. In the coming weeks I'd expect this number to increase. Time will tell

I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. Tragic. 

Never owned any of their products, but a very sad development for an iconic brand.

Click the link below for more information on the troubles of Audio Research

The Future of Audio Research (audioshark.org)