I listened to a pair of Audio Research Reference 330Ms

ARC was purchased by an individual who was overextended financially in doing so. The interest rates rose as well as tube cost and sent him into receivership for a small loan he couldn’t make the payment. A dedicated audio company came in immediately and paid the loan and took over the company. It has always a been viable business, remaining so during the short stint in receivership. The new owners are a profitable high end audio company with deep pockets.

I am a middle-class audiophile and new ARC prices 5 years ago seemed like crazy expensive gear.  My system is the only thing I really splurge on so buying used one generation back ARC gear is where I landed so spending about $15k on the gen 1 of the 160M amps that were $30k retail is the top of the mountain for me.  That is still insane territory for many.  While $90k for ARC amps is a pretty significant leap, it seems they took a significant leap in technology and power as well.  When you start visiting the top dealers and see who ARC is competing with, that $90k for a pair of amps is around the median and that is their top model.  Look at Burmester, Gryphon and D'Agostino...you can quickly get to multiples of that...and do they sound better??  I love ARC products and the people of ARC that make ARC who and what they are.  I'm really hoping their business management makes wise decisions and they are able to continue to rebuild the trust from their clients and grow their business to offer both the 'modest' top gear along with some of the next-level components as well.  I stocked up a couple years ago with enough KT 150s to run my 160Ms for about 10 years...by then maybe I can get a pair of 330Ms for...oh..maybe $28k?  ; )

My assumption about Had amps is that he doesn't make enough of 'em to make a dent in the gear consumer world. Also, you need efficient speakers to get the most out of these amps (I've owned 2...a Firebottle HO SEP and a newer Firebottle Hotrod...My original HO sounded a little better than the Hotrod so I kept it). Simply a hand wired masterpiece that costs somewhat less than 90 grand. I would not trade it for any other amp, although I do sometimes swap in a Pass XA-25 to let the HO rest (that sounded sketchy), and the two amps sound amazingly similar for my tastes although the differences are fun to experience.

I certainly hope that new ARC management is not expecting a 90K tube monoblock to restore consumer confidence post recivership. ARC has had a lot of QA issues due to outsourced parts and lack of repair techs that forums don’t report because fans ignore them and haters are ignorant of because they are not owners. Some issues have been addressed but others not. I've owned ARC gear since the late '70s and I have more issues with the 6SE/3SE/160S than any other previous ARC gear.

@wolf_garcia -- My Dennis Had Inspire 45 "Fire Bottle" amp and LP3.1 preamp also kick some serious rear-end, especially with Emission Labs tubes.  My Forte II's sing.  Dennis Had gear is woefully underappreciated...and I'm glad!  I can still get his custom, hand made gear at a reasonable price.

That’s a helluva jump from a  Bryston amp to 90k amps. I hope it works out for you and hope you now have speakers that will be commensurate with that level of performance.

@ghdprentice I hear you. I should have included in my post, with my change to the Boulder, I lost no sense of musicality or naturalness in the bass. Now, consider that the 2160 is 3x the cost of the 160; I felt I lost nothing from the move  

@robnpg

You have experienced the basic difference between good quality tube amplification and good quality solid state. Solid state is much quicker and produces greater slam. But it is not as natural, musical and nuanced in the bass. The really fast slam is something you do not experience in the real world of live music. The ARC amps are designed to sound exactly like the real thing and capture the full rhythm and pace as well as midrange bloom. They are designed for different tastes and objectives.

Curious about these. I thought my Ref 6Se and 160S combo  was going to be end game until the 330 came out. But life hit a detour and I heard the Boulder 2160 with the Ref 6Se. In comparison, the 160S seemed incredibly slow. So now I have the ARC and Boulder combo. At nearly $20k more than the Boulder, it would really have to impress for me to go back to ARC. 

No question they will sound great. If not it’s  not the amps fault. Not unusual to have followup tweaks after any significant change. 
 

“with great amps comes great responsibility”. 
 

It's a fact that uber expensive audio gear makes you feel taller. I mean...it's gotta do something...right? Also, does the ARC gear sound better than a pair of Schiit Audio's Tyr monoblocks for 4 grand or so? Or Uncle Ralph's (Atma-Sphere) monos at just over 6 grand? Unlikely...and hey...I'm already tallish.

@yesiam_a_pirate 

Congratulations are definitely in order here. To say I’m envious would be an understatement.😎.  I also wish you lived closer or there was a a dealer less than 300 miles from me.

Looking forward to hear your thoughts when you get them home and then again after a few hundred hours.

@wolf_garcia "Buy ’em and it will make you feel taller!"

Why this? Did someone tell you that his Camry was better than any Porsche or BMW, and it traumatized you?

You only live once.

Where would hi end audio be without Audio Research out there always setting a standard for good sound? In more ways than 1...💡

“IMO ALL ARC tube gear has the same "voice". Warmly analytical but not a warm bubble bath (with somewhat grey water) like, say  the McIntosh MC 9011.”

Okay so that’s one of the best metaphors I’ve heard in awhile! Nice… 

Happy listening. 

90 grand may be a fair price, but does it contain the build quality and substance of a Porsche or my M2? Does it sound better than my Dennis Had SEP masterpiece (2017 one month old for 1100 bucks)? My Pass XA-25? You like these ARC amps?? Buy ’em and it will make you feel taller!

What speakers and preamp will you be using with $90,000 amps? Just curious!!

thanks but not much of a review or impressions.  I would have preferred you let us know a little more about the system, and music you listened to so if someone would go hear them, they would have a better reference point to what you heard.  But thanks for positing.  

@yesiam_a_pirate Congratulations on getting a pair on order. As @koestner mentioned, I also heard them in an in-store demo about six weeks ago and was very impressed.

I got to hear them at a store demo. They're like a cheeseburger in paradise.

Thanks for your impressions. I look forward to listening to them.

Lordy!