Audio Research Ref 6 upgrade to 6SE.

A friend upgraded from the 6 to the 6SE and loved it.

@jeffseight   Great to hear. Did he upgrade his 6 or traded or sold his 6 for the 6SE. If he upgraded it do you know what he paid ? 

Yes. Audio Research dedicated a person to upgrades, so the turn around time dropped very significantly.

I upgraded from a Ref 5SE to a Ref 6SE… so I can’t comment on the 6–> 6SE specifically. But, I am sure you will enjoy it. I have had the REF 3 and REF 3SE Phonostage in my system, and can attest to the upgrade being worth it. From experiences of others on the preamp upgrade, I think you will be very happy.

I tried to schedule a repair to a ref anniversary preamp & was told there would be a 6 month wait

I’ve read nothing but very positive things about any Audio Research upgrades.  I mean, when you take an already great design and throw in a bunch of much better parts what could possibly go wrong?  The only thing I’d say is it’d be much more cost effective to buy a used Ref6SE because you’d already have the upgrades for far less than the stock Ref6.  I bought my fully upgraded McCormack amp 25 years ago for less than the price of the original stock amp, but that’s water under the bridge here.  I’ve no doubt you’ll be thrilled with the upgrade and will be interested in your thoughts. 

@soix   Yes. I agree with u. I’m sure I will be very happy with the upgrade. Like u said the Ref 6 is an already awesome preamp. Also yes that is what I would do if I didn’t already own the 6. But I have to do what I have to do since I already own it. 

@hhiggins  Well I think there is a difference with a repair and upgrade from the service dept. But 6 months is a very long time. 

Perhaps ARC is focusing on quick, high profit, transactions.  If you can add 17 capacitors and a little wire and it takes someone a couple of hours to do the upgrade and make $5K, that is smart business.  What do the caps cost them?

Keep in mind this is a company that was/is flirting with bankruptcy.  In these situations cash flow in is of paramount importance.  You know, cash to make payroll.

What do the caps cost them?
 

So @jetter are you suggesting ARC should just provide the upgrades for the cost of the parts?  That’s just stupid and is a recipe for going out of business for any audio manufacturer.  Plus, having anyone else do the work, assuming they could because it’s more than just soldering in some new caps, will void the warranty.  Did you even consider that?  Your thoughts are, frankly, ignorant and short sighted.  But u do u and see how that flies. 

@soix   I couldn’t agree more. Plus I was gonna say the same exact thing as u did. Why on earth would I let anyone else work or do the upgrade on my 15k preamp other than ARC. And not to even mention voiding the warranty. 

@soix

That’s just stupid and is a recipe for going out of business for any audio manufacturer.

Your thoughts are, frankly, ignorant and short sighted.

A fountain of advice for everyone but still no system pictures.  I know from your prior posts you are going through some tough times, but your demeanor kind of brings it into focus.  I am a CPA who has experience in receiverships.

Let me explain the meaning of my post in a way that you may understand, it was a possible explanation in response to @hhiggins post above.

I tried to schedule a repair to a ref anniversary preamp & was told there would be a 6 month wait

My explanation was to offer one possibility as to why hhigins wait time was so much longer compared to tattoo's wait time.  Allocating resources to the highest and fastest profit sources to maintain cash flow short-term is what any company should be doing when in financial distress.  

@tattooedtrackman 

And not to even mention voiding the warranty. 

Surprising that you would have any time left on your three-year ref 6 warranty.

I thought the ref 6SE came out in the Jan 2020  or so timeframe.

@hhiggins 

I tried to schedule a repair to a ref anniversary preamp & was told there would be a 6 month wait

Perhaps @ghdprentice can help you out with your wait time.  I do believe that he has posted regarding knowing someone at ARC.  Sorry if I have it wrong.

I know from your prior posts you are going through some tough times, but your demeanor kind of brings it into focus.  I am a CPA who has experience in receiverships.

You’re kidding with this, right?  I’m perfectly fine thanks. Asking for a company to do upgrades for the cost of parts makes you a really bad CPA.  And ARC is now in fine shape so it’s not in receivership at all.  You’re out of your depth here.

soix

... ARC is now in fine shape so it’s not in receivership at all ...

ARC is actually still in receivership and the matter remains before the court. This is a good report on the developments.

@cleeds   ARC is fine. I spoke to them personally. No worries at all. 👍💪👊

tattooedtrackman

ARC is fine. I spoke to them personally. No worries at all.

I wish ARC the best, @tattooedtrackman  but the company has serious issues. The court filings are all online, so you can read for yourself.

If the technical talent hangs on then the company has a chance to survive.  But the first thing companies pull back on these days to help cash flow is Engineering.  It is a short term solution with long term consequences.  Over my career I observed that  managing executives saw engineers as a commodity- an expensive commodity.  But the engineers are the product.  It is a recurring pattern, a downward spiral.  When product development budgets are cut, sales fall two years out.  That leads to further cuts and subsequently an additional drop in sales.  A cut in R&D budgets has even longer term consequences.  That affects sales five years out and further.  

The irony is that the first employees of a new company are typically engineers/technical talent but the last employees of a company before it closes are managers.

It is not good that ARC has gone into receivership. However, I am not so sure things are all that dire with Audio Research at the moment. The company has been acquired by Valerio Cora of Acora Acoustics Corporation to Lead New Corporation For Audio Research Brand - The Absolute Sound. Someone who owns a lot of their gear and has a passion to ensure their survival over just selling off the assets. 

A friend of mine spent about an hour talking to the new owner. He comes across as a very strong leader, passionate and knowledgable about high audio, a competent business man, with the very best intentions to strengthen the brand and importantly deep enough pockets to make it happen. It seems likely ARC is in good hands. 

Curious about Valerio Cora:

from review by Absolute Sound

Acora SRC-1 Loudspeaker
$28,000
The Acora SRC-1 is a new product from a new company but it’s an instant classic: This is a high-end loudspeaker with a stone enclosure that succeeds in all important audiophile metrics. CEO and chief designer Valerio Cora is an ardent music lover who grew up in a family-owned “dimensional stone” business and has been trying his hand at building speaker cabinets out of rock since his teenage years. But only with the refinement of computerized manufacturing techniques in recent years has Cora been able to effectively fabricate an enclosure from African black granite, a homogenous and extremely hard material with advantages over not just other kinds of stone but also (in Cora’s opinion) aluminum, resins, and other “heroic” cabinet materials.

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/2020-golden-ear-awards-andrew-quint/

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/acora-acoustics-src-1-loudspeaker/

I followed the link

acoraacoustics.com

their product lineup is simply 3 different speaker designs, and two different speaker stands.

........................................................

 For 30 years, Cora has run successful computer hardware and IT service businesses.

Evidently he is President of PC-TEK

https://pc-tek.com/

(division of Nymax Industries Inc)

Also President of Nymax (whatever they do)

Valerio Cora

President Pc-Tek Computers div/of Nymax Industries Inc

Just a suggestion.  If you don't want to send a unit to Audio Research for repair/upgrades, then find an authorized Audio Research repair facility to do the work.

For example, George Meyer AV in Los Angeles actually does excellent work.

Their technicians are top notch and know their stuff.  They are authorized repair facility for Audio Research, Mark Levinson, Krell and so many others.

I've used them many times when I didn't want to do the work myself and they are very good.

enjoy

My REF 6! Came back already from the upgrade to 6SE already. Turn around time was a week and a half. Very fast service. Sounds AMAZING. Well worth the money.