Thoughts on the brand…

While most American audio manufacturers were pivoting to transistors in 1970, Audio Research committed themselves to tube amplification. They knew that the sonic signature of tubes was more faithful to natural live music than solid state equipment, and remained steadfast to their original vision.

Decade after decade they have continued to improve on tube design and performance… all of which has culminated in the new Reference line.

The Reference line by Audio Research is beautiful on the outside, and a technological marvel under the hood. While the standard top is metal, our showroom top is transparent to showcase the quality of parts and precision of layout. You’ll notice that even the tubes themselves are dampened with rubber rings to prevent microphony (subtle vibrations that can get passed along to the speaker and blemish the music.) The see-through front meter is the other window into Audio Research’s precise engineering, which by design remains part of the overall aesthetic.

The Reference series also takes a step forward in its refinement of user experience. An auto shut off feature kicks in after two hours so you don’t shorten your tube life unnecessarily. A button on the right switches between ultra-linear and triode modes, which essentially switches the tube from more power to more musicality. If you’re listening at moderate volume, triode mode will be sweeter. If you want a more robust sound, just tap the button and put it in ultra-linear mode. You’ll lose a tiny bit of that sweetness, but gain big dynamics and power.