Audio Research VM-220 Tube Monoblock Amplifiers

These amplifiers are extremely rare, and rarely come up for sale. I believe less than 100 pairs were ever made. The reason I purchased this particular model is that I am from Minneapolis, close to the Audio Research factory, and I have a friend of a friend who has worked at Audio Research for the last 30 years. He specifically recommended this model based most importantly on sound quality, with looks being an added extra bonus. He said "They're the ones I'd buy... And I've heard them all". It was good advice, I've been delighted with them. Dave Gordon, the president of ARC, said to me that "Everything we know about tube amplifiers went into those" and I have no doubt it's true. So I looked high and low, and finally found a pair that is, to my eyes, close to flawless. I purchased these from the original owner approximately three years ago. At that time, they were freshly retubed with Tung-Sol KT120's. I have many other tube amps, including Audio Research Classic 150, VTL MB-300, and MB-450, and VTL Wotan. These amplifiers are one of the very few Audio Research models that will safely run the longer lasting and more powerful KT-120 tubes without modification. The KT-120 tube is much longer lasting, cannot be overloaded, offers better bass control, better mid-bass detail, more fine detail, a higher and cleaner top end, and best yet, a midrange to die for- one that surpasses the legendary EL-34. To top it all off it gives a better defined and more palpable 3D soundstage. Also, the increase in power and headroom contributes greatly to a sense of "ease" with which the music is played- and it is much more comparable with a live performance... The music just flows from the speakers, which are controlled effortlessly. It is a major upgrade in sound. They are in almost perfect condition, but rated an "8" to be conservative. Of course, their operation is flawless. These amplifiers are immaculate, I cannot find a scratch, ding, or blemish on them. Most sellers on Audiogon over-rate their items, I don't like this practice. In my mind, they are excellent and a "9", but I'd rather be conservative. I know even the pickiest audiophile will be quite pleased. These are likely to be the cleanest VM220 amplifiers you'll ever find. They would be very suitable for an Audio Research collector, and I know there are more than a few of you out there- but I am not trying to price them as a collector piece, and many VM-220s have sold for far more than my asking price. These would be a good purchase for a dealer or reseller as the condition of the amplifiers is excellent! The tubes have less than 300 hours on them. (power tubes and small signal tubes). Power tubes are Tung-Sol KT-120 and small signal tubes are Sovtek. These amplifiers are very similar to the REF 210 as far as sonics, and they are actually quite a bit more powerful than the Ref 210 (they have eight power tubes per channel, as opposed to the Ref 210's 6). They were rated at 230 watts at clipping with 6550 tubes in them, and with the increased output of the KT120 tubes in them, I wouldn't be surprised if they were making more in the neighborhood of 250+ watts at clipping. (For those of you that don't know, the KT-120 actually does produce more power in the same circuit, some have said 8%... I know a lot of people don't know it's true, but Bob Latino, among others, has measured it...) That's quite a lot of tube power, as Audio Research rates their amplifiers very conservatively. Because they are so powerful, I haven't ever had to drive them hard, and I doubt that they've been clipped more than a time or two as the previous owner had very efficient speakers. Not only are the amplifiers more powerful than the Ref 210 amps, but they are a whole lot better looking. Women actually like the way these amplifiers look... and so will you. I love them, they have truly been the jewel in my system. I have used these quite sparingly as I have lots of tube amps, and tend to rotate them in and out of my system quite regularly. These amplifiers are fully differentially balanced, which means they are push-pull, and have an exceptionally low noise floor, and have no inherent noise in them. One of the many nice side effects of this is that you can use a low cost XLR interconnect on them, and be completely satisfied- they cancel out all the RF noise the interconnect picks up. I've been using low cost XLR cables on them and I've been completely satisfied. Most importantly- how do they sound? For starters, the bass response is incredible, and has to be heard to be believed. It's better and more powerful than not only all my tube amps (even the venerable VTL Wotans), but my solid state amps as well, including B&O Icepower 1000ASP based ones. Not only is the bass powerful and authoritative, but the amplifiers are able to communicate subtleties that are lost on so many others, so that the reverberation of a wooden instrument, such as the cello or double bass, sound realistic and lifelike. Pianos sound like a PIANO, like a complex musical instrument, with felt-covered hammers hitting strings reverberating through a sounding board... and all of this in the confines of the hall in which the concert was recorded... The subtleties of the instruments and delicacy of the performance, as well as the explosive dynamics, are revealed. Having spoken so much about the bass and midbass, the true strength of these amplifiers is in the midrange. If you're not a Norah Jones fan yet, buy these... and I promise you will be! These amplifiers do more to allow the natural beauty of the female voice (yes, male too!) to emerge than any I have heard without imposing a sound of their own... All the richness, texture, and detail you could ever hope for... They are exceptional. They simply get out of the way, and let music simply happen! They have a natural, non-fatiguing presentation that does not overemphasize any part of a note, or any particular frequencies, and seem to be free of artifacts. Guitar (both electric, and acoustic) is the best I've ever heard. Imaging is flawless, and of course, vastly superior to a stereo amplifier (don't get me started here!). The image is palpable, one of my favorite songs has a rock thrown into water, and the splash sounds so realistic... you wonder why you're not getting wet. If the information is in the recording (Keith Johnson's Reference Recordings, for example), the instruments will be properly placed, the correct size (very important!), and have the correct spacing between them, with a deep and wide soundstage. Decay is nothing short of delicious. This is one of my favorite parts of tube gear, and the VM-220s do not disappoint! In short, these are incredible. You will continually be delighted and amazed as you hear detail in your music that you've never heard before... While experiencing musical satisfaction that is nothing less than completely seductive. They easily drive Magnepan 20.1 (my current reference), as well as Magnepan 3.6 (my previous reference), and I've used them on Martin Logan ReQuest (a very large electrostatic panel with a 12" woofer) and Ascents (slightly smaller panel, 10" woofer) and they drive electrostatic speaker with an enormous amount of authority. They are simply more powerful than any other tube amp I've owned, regardless of power rating. If you are looking for an amplifier to drive a speaker full range (and you should be!) these will drive literally anything. I have heard from the president of our local audio society (he has heard these particular amps, and likes them very much) that they also sound wonderful on Wilson Audio products, in particular the Watt Puppies, Sashas, and MAXX series. They are also used by audio companies to demo gear at audio/electronics shows. These have, as I've mentioned, a very similar sound to the Ref 210, it's very close despite a slightly different topology. They sound similar, but quite a bit better than the VS-115 amplifier that many ARC dealers have in their showrooms, which was lauded by the press- any positive comment expressed about the VS-115 applies to these as well, these are simply better, with more headroom, better imaging, and superior bass response. Many audiophiles own VS-115s, and usually people pay almost as much for this stereo amplifier with half the power as they would for a pair of these VM-220s, and Monoblocks are so much better than Stereo amplifiers, as the imaging is far, far superior. (These sound different than the old VS-110 amps, which don't have the same advances these do.) These are modern tube amplifiers that can be connected to a preamp with a +12vdc remote power on circuit and will be powered on and off with your preamp, if you're too lazy to get up from your listening chair and turn them on physically- or simply power them off with your preamp's remote (assuming a +12vdc power on circuit on your linestage) if you're too tired to get out of bed to turn them off before you fall asleep! Check out this link for more information- http://www.arcdb.ws/VM220/VM220.html Here is a Review- http://www.audioresearch.com/ContentsFiles/ARCVM220HFN0V7.2005.pdf Another reason that a buyer should pick these over many other models of Audio Research, and many other tube amps, is how easy they are to maintain. They are suitable for Tube Newbies... Though I would prefer a sale to an experienced tube audiophile, these are the amps you _should_ buy if you aren't super knowledgeable about tubes or electronics. These have tube bias test jacks built into the back of the amplifiers to test tube bias- and most don't. So, you will be able to bias the amplifiers very easily, and completely safely, where with some Audio Research products (VT-100 and VT-200, Classic series, etc) the biasing of tubes requires removing dozens of screws and working with high voltages on powered up circuit boards with 450-600v on them... and definitely best left to a technician. These amplifiers you will be able to rebias, and eventually retube, yourself- with no help from a technician. Not only will this save you time, but it will save money and hassle as well. Some people actually have to ship their amps to Audio Research to have them retubed or biased! Not you. (Another thing to consider is if the amp in question is actually OK to run KT-120 tubes in. This one is, but many are not. Many Ref 210 owners, for example, will put KT-120 tubes in without actually performing the upgrade, which was expensive, and is no longer available- and this may damage the amplifier. If you are considering a Ref 210, make sure the seller actually has documentation reflecting that the upgrade, which is no longer available, was done... or your amplifiers could be in need of a very expensive repair if they were used with the KT-120 tubes.) Why am I selling them? I am a collector of tube gear, looking to finance a new purchase. I don't really need to purchase another pair of Audio Research "superamps" but it's always fun to try something new. The amps I am considering are three times the price, but they probably won't give me much extra in sound quality... but the only way to demo them is to purchase them first! I am ready to give myself a Christmas present, and you should do the same! Buyer pays _all_ shipping costs, unfortunately the buyer will need to double the price of the shipping calculator provided by Audiogon, as there are two amps in two boxes, not just one box, and Audiogon does not provide for this. Seller not liable for mistakes of the Audiogon shipping calculator/insurance estimator. (Seller will not overcharge for shipping.) Local pickup is welcome! Unfortunately all my gear is currently in storage as I am working on my house, but if a local person were to need a demo, I'd do my best to at least demonstrate the amplifiers are in excellent operational condition. Included are both amps, tubes, original 20amp ARC power cords, original boxes, manual, and sundries. No other equipment, interconnects, speaker wire, knickknacks, etc. will be included. Contact me for better photos! I am ready to sell these, but lowball offers will be ignored. Paypal adds 3%.