A New Lease of Life for Audio Research
The outlook didn't look so good for iconic US brand Audio Research when it filed for receivership in April this year. Like StereoNET predicted when the news broke, a saviour soon appeared, and the company has now been purchased by AR Tube Audio Corporation, a privately owned Delaware Corporation.
AR Tube Audio Corporation, which includes Valerio Cora of Acora Acoustics Corporation as a Director, will operate independently from Acora Acoustics, an Ontario-based high-performance loudspeaker corporation.
A judge approved the acquisition after an asset purchase agreement was made with Lighthouse Management Group, the company responsible for steering Audio Research through its legal and financial matters. According to the new owners, private equity and venture capital investment groups are not involved in the new corporation, who said, "it is comprised of passionate audiophiles devoted to great music reproduction".
Audio Research was founded in Minneapolis in 1970. It will remain in its Maple Grove, Minnesota facility, where it designs, builds, and supports the hand-made products that have established it as the preeminent manufacturer of vacuum-tube audio electronics.
The company has also said that "loyal and long-term staff of employees will remain unchanged, but is expected to grow alongside the company". Further, Audio Research's network of select dealers and distributors will remain stable and continue to receive the company's full support.
It is understood that this acquisition is set to provide the financial stability required to resume the growth that Audio Research has achieved over the decades. The company also reports exciting new products on the horizon, including the Reference 320M amplifier, which is expected to "fuel Audio Research's growth".
Audio Research's product line remains unchanged and is expected to continue to develop over time.
For more information visit Audio Research
Marc Rushton
StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After writing for print magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET in 1999.
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