Why are People Dumping their Audio Research Gear and What Does it Say about them?


Title says it all. Either you like it and it sounds good or not. What does it say about dealers that are dumping their demos? 

Ag insider logo xs@2xstephens770

I'm a close watcher of the brand and it's secondary market. I'm seeing neither greater selling nor price reductions on the ask.  I'm sure the bid is down-  bidders use bad news to beat down the price. 

One thing that concerns me is repairs/upgrades. It is 8 months to get into the ARC cue for a refresh or a repair. An owner who wants his Reference unit certified by ARC has a LONG wait before he has his baby working again. Let's say that same guy needs to sell his let's say Ref 5SE but he had JoBloStereo do some repairs. A prudent buyer would discount the unit. Now it's a $2500 preamp and not a 5K preamp. That will indeed depress prices.

I "inherited" a VT130 that was blowing up screening resistors. ARC put me in line last August and I'm STILL waiting for the RMA from Mr.Christenson.  Now if I HAD to sell it (death divorce debt) it's not a 3K amp it's a 1K amp. Maybe a $500 amp. 

There is always the panic seller- and the almost out of warranty seller. And the broke seller. All these guys depress value. That's the way the free market works. 

There have been a few videos outing AR build quality toss that in with the financial issues and I don't blame anyone for dumping them. If wanting AR buy older AR.

Just a question on this topic.

If AR does go under, What are the people who have theirs equipment supposed to do in case of repair?

Have all ARC gear and not letting it go anywhere.  Not fancy ARC gear but older and still supported by ARC.  When I heard the news, I was looking for deals to maybe upgrade.