Audio Research Corporation Factory Tour
by Marc Mickelson and Doug Schneider

Baseball fans have Fenway Park (or is it Wrigley Field?), and for tube fanatics there's Audio Research Corporation (ARC), a shrine of the high-end-audio industry. Audio Research  has had four homes in its 31 years of existence. Yes, 31 years. This company has been around so long that they even gave Magnepan a boost when that company was starting out. Audio Research was Magnepan's first distributor, and the two names were synonymous in stores. But that was a long time ago, when both were much smaller companies.

Audio Research's current location, in Plymouth, Minnesota, a western suburb of Minneapolis, occupies 49,000 square feet of office, engineering, manufacturing and storage space, all of which is as neat as the internal layout of an Audio Research product. Perhaps the most interesting use of this space is parts inventory for all Audio Research products ever made, which the company still supports. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

We arrived at ARC early in the morning. The building is inconspicuous, and if you aren't watching closely for the sign out front, you may drive right by. Walk in the front door and you'll find a clean, bright, well-kept waiting room. Nothing inside suggests the type of high-end fanaticism that goes on in the back part of the building. No, this is a waiting area like any other -- chairs, plants, and of course, a receptionist who directs phone calls and visitors, sending both to and fro.

Our tour was led by three members of Audio Research's management and design teams -- and three very knowledgeable and savvy industry veterans: Dave Gordon, ARC's North American sales manager; Terry Dorn, vice president of marketing and sales; and Warren Gehl, materials engineer, quality-control technician, and chief "listener," something we'll expand on later. Roughly 50 people work for Audio Research, which seems like a lot until you see the spread of the facilities, which are inhumanly clean and orderly, almost like a lab where microchips are made.

As is customary on these tours, our guides didn't want to get us into the nitty-gritty of product production right away. Instead, we first toured the office area, a very wide, L-shaped hall that extends along one side of the rectangular building and then up another short side. It ends at the office of William Z. Johnson's, the president and founder of Audio Research. Given ARC's status in the industry, William Johnson is something of a legend, the Babe Ruth of audio.

After a very brief talk with Mr. Johnson, we went back to the  boardroom and got a quick overview of the company's history. An overview is really all they could give us in the time allotted. We learned plenty about Audio Research, but one thing Dave Gordon said really stood out: "Some people think of Audio Research as the General Motors of high-end audio because we are the oldest and largest manufacturer of tube electronics." Prior to our visit, we discussed this same thing! We wondered if such an identity is a good or bad thing. Depends how you look at it.

Certainly, conjuring GM has some positive aspects -- longevity, size, and engineering prowess among them. However, Gordon meant that ARC maintains the passion for music and reproduction that's at the heart of high-end audio, so ARC is more like Ferrari than GM. Audio Research has maintained the "classic" look of their components, and they don't just jump on the latest gee-whiz technology for the sake of doing so. But this isn't a company simply resting on its laurels. It has a carefully defined mission, a deep-rooted philosophy of how audio products should be designed and manufactured, and a strong desire to build and deliver products that offer high value, extraordinary performance, and years of long-lasting enjoyment. What's more, back in that production area they do some extremely innovative and surprising things that we haven't seen duplicated by any other company.

Production

Manufacturing at ARC is driven by a three-month sales forecast, which allows Audio Research to determine materials needed for future production. This allows ARC to do what few audio companies can -- ship products on demand. Vice president of manufacturing Ralph Fetter showed us the production schedule, which is written out on a large white board so all employees can know what's expected in the coming months.

Production begins with "board stuffing," the act of populating the circuit boards with the parts that make up each product. The circuit boards are cleaned beyond the point of visual purity because Audio Research has discovered that so many things, including the solution used to clean the circuit boards, affect the sound of the finished product. All parts are soldered by hand, and all wiring is of a special Litz geometry, each strand having its own insulation. The circuit boards utilize "super-heavy traces" and gold contacts. As we were told, "wire lengths have to be precise, and wire routing even more precise." All the employees on the manufacturing floor are "specialists," performing one series of tasks before the boards go to another station. Six separate quality-control inspections take place, including one with a magnifying glass. After the circuit boards are stuffed and inspected, they meet the chassis at the finalizing stations, where the products come together.

Populating the printed circuit board with parts...	...and then completing the board by soldering the parts.
Although ARC is a large high-end-audio company, all products still require extensive hand-craftsmanship.	The larger amplifiers are moved around the factory on specially modified engine hoists -- burned in and tested on these too.
Chris Ossanna is Audio Research's field service administrator -- the repair guy. He's also treasurer of the Audio Society of Minnesota.	Boxed and ready to ship.

Assembled products are tested, burned in (after which face plates are added), tested again and then, before they're packed for shipping, listened to. Yes, this is a large, production-oriented company that still does testing by ear. Warren Gehl knows how each ARC product should sound -- he listens to 20 or more each day, and nothing leaves the factory until he's OKed it. The day we visited, there were dozens of products waiting for their moment in Warren's listening room. And they don't pass by his door until Warren says so. Obviously, this can become a bottleneck in production, but ARC feels that listening is a critical part of the quality-control process. And this doesn't just apply to new products; it goes for upgrades and repairs too!

We finally get to listen!

For listening tests, Audio Research uses Wilson speakers -- Grand SLAMMs and WATT/Puppy 6es -- which they say are good for identifying noise problems and hearing overall resolution, and Avalon Eidolons, which are a good 4-ohm test load and very revealing speakers. When Warren tests the electronics, he hauls them into the room, warms them up and breaks them in for a predetermined period. Then the listening is done with his usual supply of reference music. In some cases, Warren can diagnose the problems he hears, but in all cases of a product that doesn't pass muster, he simply sends it back for correction.

On the day of our visit, Warren was listening to a pair of VTM200 monoblocks powering Wilson WATT/Puppy 6 speakers, both of which Marc Mickelson had in his listening room. Marc thought the sound at Audio Research was even better than the sound in his own room, with greater depth and detail. ARC's smaller listening room is actually a partitioned-off segment of a larger room, but it was obvious that the ARC staff had done an impressive job of turning it into a dedicated listening space. The Wilson speakers were far out from the back wall, which helped them achieve depth that seemingly went yards behind them, and their bass impact was something to behold. After we listened for a while, we understood why Wilson speakers were in use. They were the perfect conduits for discerning the qualities of Audio Research electronics: high resolution, great impact, tonal neutrality, and a seemingly limitless sense of power.

Service and upgrades

Manufacturing is one part of the equation. Audio Research, though, wants their customers to feel like they've made a lasting investment in the products they purchase. That's why we were amazed to see just how far they go to ensure that every customer can get their products serviced, or upgraded should they wish. The day of our visit, The Nguyen, who is responsible for updates at ARC, was working on an LS-5 preamp. Audiophiles often grouse about the cost of updates, but ARC's are rather labor intensive. For example, updating a Reference Two preamp to Mk II status takes twice as much work as simply populating the Reference Two Mk II chassis with new circuit boards because the unit has to be taken apart completely and reassembled. And yes, each updated unit is tested, burned in and listened to. So Warren Gehl not only knows what new ARC product should sound like, he has an aural database of all products he's heard from which to compare.

In order to facilitate a service program like this, a company has to have a considerable inventory of parts on hand. Audio Research takes its parts seriously and stocks over 4000 of them for all of their products ever made. Tubes and FETs are tested and graded, which determines where each will be used -- if they are used at all. And ARC documents each product by its serial number, making it possible to call in and get an exact replacement tube, for instance, -- one that won't even require re-biasing.

The Nguyen is in charge of the upgrade department.

Dave Gordon holds a circa-1977 SP-3A preamplifier in for upgrade.

Audio Research owners can even get original faceplates for products.

Conclusion

Immediately after we finished our tour, we were able to meet with William Johnson again. He was where we pictured him to be, perched in front of his computer at work on another design. We talked a bit about his company and left with a greater understanding of what it really takes to make it in the high-end-audio world: talent and persistence.

Celebrating a tenth anniversary as a manufacturer of high-end-audio equipment is something that most companies don't reach, so why has Audio Research lapped this field three times? The products factor into the equation, but it's obvious that the orderliness of the company and its processes as well as its support of all its products have created a legacy that audiophiles identify with, especially as companies come and go. There is an implied promise made to Audio Research owners: we'll be there for you when -- if -- you need us. And there's true value in that.

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To find out more about Audio Research Corporation, visit www.audioresearch.com.