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Audio Research Ref 600 Monoblocks + Stands - $4,800 (San Diego)
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Up for sale are a set of near-mint, legendary 500W tube amps…the Audio Research REF 600’s mk i (concurrent serial numbers, as seen in pictures)
I can say with confidence, that these are almost like museum pieces. My dad purchased most of this equipment in the mid-90's and they've sat in his climate controlled office with only occasional use.
What can you say about the Reference 600 that hasn't already been said? It's ARC founder William Zane Johnson's masterpiece, his magnum opus. Described by The Absolute Sound as one of the 10 "most significant amplifiers" ever, a "lifetime achievement product" offering "breathtaking thermionic power that has no peer." These amplifiers are the last word in power, resolution and fidelity, musicality, and power.
Boasting 16 6550 power tubes PER CHANNEL and all-tube input and regulation, these things are behemoths--what Robert Harley called "a serious amplifier in every sense of the word." He continued: "But High End audio in its purest expression has never been about sacrificing sound quality to convenience or cost.
The Reference 600 design remains the basis for ARC's current Reference 750 SE. And these amplifiers can power basically any speaker on the market--even (especially!) hard-to-drive speakers like Magnepans. Not many tube amps can match that claim. My dad used these to power his Genesis 2's. Ever heard 500W of tube power only used to power midranges and tweeters? I have. It's absolutely amazing (Genesis Technologies has a separate amp that powers the bass towers).
The specs speak for themselves: 500 watts continuous output at 16 ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz with less than 1% total harmonic distortion (typically less than .05% at 1 watt). 600 watts peak. Per amplifier tube compliment: 8 matched pairs of 6550C power output, 4 6550C regulators, 3 6922 regulators, 8 6922 drivers; 2 6922 inputs. Musical output: pure bliss.
This pair comes has less than 100 hours on the tubes. The chassis are nearly perfect.