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Audio Research
Website:https://audioresearch.com/
Est. year: 1970
Audio Research Corporation is an American maker of vacuum-tube amplifiers, preamplifiers, phono stages and DACs, founded in 1970 in Minneapolis by William Z. Johnson and now located in Maple Grove, Minnesota. Johnson had built custom electronics since the early 1950s, and his company is credited with bringing tubes back as the main amplifying device in the 1970s. Every unit is assembled by hand in the Minnesota plant.
Range & what it's known for
The catalog is split into the Foundation and Reference series. Foundation covers the LS28SE line stage at USD 12,000, the VT80SE stereo power amplifier at USD 8,900, the PH9 phono stage with three 6H30 tubes and five loading settings, and the DAC9 tube converter with USB, RCA, BNC, AES/EBU and Toslink inputs handling PCM to 384 kHz and native DSD. The I/50 integrated at USD 6,500 opened a new entry series, and the I/70 at USD 9,950 follows it with optional DAC and MM/MC phono cards at USD 1,000 each. Reference holds the 6SE preamplifier at USD 22,500, the Reference 10 preamplifier, the Reference Phono 3SE, the 160M monoblocks and the Reference 330M monoblocks at USD 90,000 per pair, which run six KT170 tubes in fully balanced pentode mode driven by JFETs for 330 watts. Auto-bias and tube-monitoring circuits are shared across the newer amplifiers, and the SE updates carry proprietary gold coupling capacitors down from the Reference models.
Who owns it and where it's made
The company passed from Johnson to Fine Sounds SpA in 2008, became part of what was renamed McIntosh Group in 2016, went to TWS Enterprises in 2020 and entered receivership in 2023. AR Tube Audio Corporation, a Delaware company set up with Valerio Cora of Acora Acoustics as a director, bought the assets that June. In 2026 Cora stepped down and the majority owner, Toronto-based Crystal Claire Cosmetics, took direct oversight, with Evan Skucius and Les Robinson as co-general managers. Design, production and service remain at Maple Grove.
The lineup in this catalog
Preamplifiers, amplifiers and DACs (22). Maker prices run from USD 6,500 for the I/50 integrated to USD 90,000 per pair for the Reference 330M monoblocks.
Who it's for
Audio Research suits the buyer who wants tube electronics built in the United States by the firm that defined the format, and who plans to stay inside one house style as the system grows. The I/50 or I/70 is the least costly route into Audio Research, LS28SE and VT80SE form the first separates step, and the Reference preamplifiers and monoblocks are the destination for large rooms and low-sensitivity loudspeakers.
Range & what it's known for
The catalog is split into the Foundation and Reference series. Foundation covers the LS28SE line stage at USD 12,000, the VT80SE stereo power amplifier at USD 8,900, the PH9 phono stage with three 6H30 tubes and five loading settings, and the DAC9 tube converter with USB, RCA, BNC, AES/EBU and Toslink inputs handling PCM to 384 kHz and native DSD. The I/50 integrated at USD 6,500 opened a new entry series, and the I/70 at USD 9,950 follows it with optional DAC and MM/MC phono cards at USD 1,000 each. Reference holds the 6SE preamplifier at USD 22,500, the Reference 10 preamplifier, the Reference Phono 3SE, the 160M monoblocks and the Reference 330M monoblocks at USD 90,000 per pair, which run six KT170 tubes in fully balanced pentode mode driven by JFETs for 330 watts. Auto-bias and tube-monitoring circuits are shared across the newer amplifiers, and the SE updates carry proprietary gold coupling capacitors down from the Reference models.
Who owns it and where it's made
The company passed from Johnson to Fine Sounds SpA in 2008, became part of what was renamed McIntosh Group in 2016, went to TWS Enterprises in 2020 and entered receivership in 2023. AR Tube Audio Corporation, a Delaware company set up with Valerio Cora of Acora Acoustics as a director, bought the assets that June. In 2026 Cora stepped down and the majority owner, Toronto-based Crystal Claire Cosmetics, took direct oversight, with Evan Skucius and Les Robinson as co-general managers. Design, production and service remain at Maple Grove.
The lineup in this catalog
Preamplifiers, amplifiers and DACs (22). Maker prices run from USD 6,500 for the I/50 integrated to USD 90,000 per pair for the Reference 330M monoblocks.
Who it's for
Audio Research suits the buyer who wants tube electronics built in the United States by the firm that defined the format, and who plans to stay inside one house style as the system grows. The I/50 or I/70 is the least costly route into Audio Research, LS28SE and VT80SE form the first separates step, and the Reference preamplifiers and monoblocks are the destination for large rooms and low-sensitivity loudspeakers.
