This may sound a bit silly but why are so many


Audio Research Ref 40's for sale.Four in the last month and a half.If the preamp is good as they say and I'm sure it is,why would anyone be willing to take a 40-45% hit on a product that competes with the best of them.Just curious as to what others think.
128x128franklapdog
Your answer can be found by using the "search" function on the forum page. Use the search query- why so many - You will see that this question gets asked hundreds of times and the answers are always the same.

Why are there so many Toyota's and Honda's for sale? I thought that they were well made vehicles.

Why are there so many Apple iPhone 4s for sale? Upgraditis maybe? Audiophile nervousa? Chasing the Merry-go-round?

Your guess will be as good as anyone elses.

Without people constantly buying and selling this site would evaporate.
You seem to be assuming they are buying these new, rather than buying used and selling for same price as purchase.
09-23-12: Jl35
You seem to be assuming they are buying these new, rather than buying used and selling for same price as purchase.
Jl35 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)
OK so why did the orig owner sold it? Someone has to buy it new ...
That is true.So what is really going on here? Is there any inside info on what's going on or am I just being a bit parinoid?
Of course someone buys new. But then they often get sold and resold, so the numbers can be misleading. Probably nothing going on here. Plus lots of members here have lots of money.
Everyone hears differently. What is beautifully neutral to some people sounds a little lean to me.

A preamp that is perfect for one system may sound terrible in another. You have to get all the components in your system complementing one another. A really good or expensive component may not work in a particular system

If you build your system by trial and error, as many on Audiogon do, you will buy and sell a lot of gear before you get your system to sound just right, if you ever do.
Sfstereo
Are you serious? Where did you hear that?It would'nt surprize me too much but why not a Ref 80?
Christmas morning is better than Christmas afternoon. AudioGon allows the buy/sell/buy thrill to trickle downward, allowing more to chase a high of high-fidelity. As with other things, the chase and expectation is often the best part. Don't buy a Cadillac and a gun on the same day because the expectation of happiness can turn quickly.
Ok its a reference preamp at least that is the label given to it by Audio Research. Doesn't mean that it is leaps and bounds better than what it replaced. Maybe there was no improvement at all and if there was, maybe it was just marginal and resold. A couple of months ago I listened to the new top-of-the-line Reference Audio Research system, connected to Wilson speakers. It had a combined cost of one hundred thousand dollars. I walked away unimpressed and thought what I had at a much lower cost sounded better. Sometimes the law of diminishing returns does apply.
Frank,

Here's the link:

http://www.audioaficionado.org/audio-research/16218-reference-10-preamplifier.html
I'm having the opposite problem. Looking for a specific (which will remain unspecified) tube amp. Why so few?
What I didn't like about the ARC REF40 was that it's sound was just too tuby, it brought back memories of the ARC of old. Other than that it was OK for the price.
Tomcy6, I think your post nailed it and believe what you said covers most all what I think is true when it comes to buying and selling.
.
Yeah, what Tomcy6 said. Even if you ever do get everything 'just right', something new comes out and your curiosity gnaws at you incessantly.

As good as the Ref 40 is, ARC eventually had to come out with a model that surpassed it. I'm always thankful when the new ARC preamp models come out, the prices of the pre-owned previous flagship models start to tumble and I get to move up the food chain a little. I should be ready for one of those pre-owned Ref 40's in a couple of years.
.
Mich4t, you are correct that a sale of a preamp can be the result of wanting the new and improved model. To this day I can't understand why the AR reference system I listened to did not move me. I asked the dealer to try a different CD with no improvements. I thought also that the Wilson speakers could quite possibly be a bad match for the audio research components.
It is as good as they say & no one's buying mine! That said, everyones taste is different, several early units were sold to the trade at a discount so they won't lose much, others like trying the "flavor of the month", and at this price level for many who would buy one, cost isn't so much of a consideration whether new or used. I don't think the Ref 10 will be considered an upgrade, but ARC sold many more limited release Ref 40s than they anticipated, they probably felt they had to follow it up with something.

One reason some may not find it their "cup of tea" is that the Ref 40s holographic space presentation wreaks havoc with some processed music that wasn't carefully mixed. I don't find it tubey and I say that having never owned a tube preamp. It may not be the best out there for someone who likes rock music and lives only for leading edge detail, incisive clarity, and pure transient speed.
.
Barrysandy, let's talk in about three years. I'll be ready for the Ref 40 by then, and your curiosity about the new models will have gotten the best of you by then.
.
Mitch. Not happening! My wife will get the best of me (just like Lorena Bobbit) if I ever buy any stereo component this expensive again. Regards Barry
Many thanks to all that posted on this thread.We definetly are a class A group of audionuts.