aliveatfive
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Manufacturer: Audio Research Corporation
Model: VT 100 III
MSRP: $6500
Average Used Price: $3400 - $3800 (note - I anticipate this to change because the amp has just been discontinued)
Specs: 100 watts per channel (4 or 8 ohms at less than 1% THD)
Amp Auditioned On: Sequel II, Ascent i, Summit
I have to begin by stating my prejudice: the first time I heard Sequel IIs they were being driven by ARC Classic 60 tubes. I thought the sound was unbelievably good - almost the best I've ever heard.
Several years and trades of equipment later, I was finally able to afford and buy the components of my dream. It didn't take long to realize that in my room this combination did not work well. Sixty watts of ARC tubes was not enough for the Sequels. After another spell of trading and saving, I was able to buy a dealer demo ARC VT 100 III.
Though this amp clearly sounded better that the Classic 60, it left quite a bit to be desired. The upper midrange, lower treble region was exaggerated. Being particularly sensitive to this band of frequencies, I found the amp kind of hard to listen to. I friend of mine had a VT 100 II that he loved. We decided to do a comparison of the 2 amps. An invited guest was one of Stereophile's writers (who must remain unnamed). We all agreed - the more moderate upper mids of the II were preferable to the etched upper mids of the III. BTW, the comparison was done on Alon (now Nola) speakers, but what I heard on my MLs was clearly heard on his Alons.
About this time I acquired a pair of Ascent is. I guess I owned the amp for about 8 months at the time, and I was considering trading it for something else. When the Ascents had broken in, I was pretty happy with the sound. The amp improved with time. Now, string sections of symphony orchestras were sounding like real music. There was a sense of depth and space that I'd not heard in my system. For a tube amp, the bottom end was very nicely done. Vocals were realistic, also.
Around this time I had the opportunity to talk to a repair tech who had a great deal of experience working on ARC products. He told me that in his opinion, the VT 100 III required a huge amount of time to thoroughly blossom. He said one year or more was not uncommon.
Cut to the present. I am now the proud owner of a pair of ML Summits. I still have the ARC VT 100 III. I find this amp (completely broken-in) to be a very good pairing with the speaker. If you are looking for a tube-sounding system, don't use this amp. But if neutrality in components is what you are seeking, you will get it here with a healthy dose of musicality.
Coda: The amp has just been discontinued by ARC. It will probably be available on Audiogon at a good price. Its replacement (if any) has not been announced yet.
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Model: VT 100 III
MSRP: $6500
Average Used Price: $3400 - $3800 (note - I anticipate this to change because the amp has just been discontinued)
Specs: 100 watts per channel (4 or 8 ohms at less than 1% THD)
Amp Auditioned On: Sequel II, Ascent i, Summit
I have to begin by stating my prejudice: the first time I heard Sequel IIs they were being driven by ARC Classic 60 tubes. I thought the sound was unbelievably good - almost the best I've ever heard.
Several years and trades of equipment later, I was finally able to afford and buy the components of my dream. It didn't take long to realize that in my room this combination did not work well. Sixty watts of ARC tubes was not enough for the Sequels. After another spell of trading and saving, I was able to buy a dealer demo ARC VT 100 III.
Though this amp clearly sounded better that the Classic 60, it left quite a bit to be desired. The upper midrange, lower treble region was exaggerated. Being particularly sensitive to this band of frequencies, I found the amp kind of hard to listen to. I friend of mine had a VT 100 II that he loved. We decided to do a comparison of the 2 amps. An invited guest was one of Stereophile's writers (who must remain unnamed). We all agreed - the more moderate upper mids of the II were preferable to the etched upper mids of the III. BTW, the comparison was done on Alon (now Nola) speakers, but what I heard on my MLs was clearly heard on his Alons.
About this time I acquired a pair of Ascent is. I guess I owned the amp for about 8 months at the time, and I was considering trading it for something else. When the Ascents had broken in, I was pretty happy with the sound. The amp improved with time. Now, string sections of symphony orchestras were sounding like real music. There was a sense of depth and space that I'd not heard in my system. For a tube amp, the bottom end was very nicely done. Vocals were realistic, also.
Around this time I had the opportunity to talk to a repair tech who had a great deal of experience working on ARC products. He told me that in his opinion, the VT 100 III required a huge amount of time to thoroughly blossom. He said one year or more was not uncommon.
Cut to the present. I am now the proud owner of a pair of ML Summits. I still have the ARC VT 100 III. I find this amp (completely broken-in) to be a very good pairing with the speaker. If you are looking for a tube-sounding system, don't use this amp. But if neutrality in components is what you are seeking, you will get it here with a healthy dose of musicality.
Coda: The amp has just been discontinued by ARC. It will probably be available on Audiogon at a good price. Its replacement (if any) has not been announced yet.
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