Audio Research G-Series Amplifiers
After 44 years in the high fidelity business, Minnesota-based Audio Research Corporation is releasing its new G-Series pre, power and integrated amplifiers, with more models in the range to come.
When Audio Research was established in 1970, its founder Bill Johnson believed that vacuum tube amps remained the standard for sound quality, compared to the transistor amps that were then becoming common. In the nearly four and half decades since, the company has continued to develop and refine valve amps, guided by the principle that 'The perfect amplifier would really be a straight wire with gain', as current Head of Engineering, Ward Fiebiger puts it.
The G-series units are hand built in the company's Minnesota facility, combining modern styling with recall of the traditional look.
The GS150 stereo power amplifier uses the newly developed KT150 tube for its output stage. It offers 155 watts per channel from 20 hertz to 20,000 hertz, and has an impressive frequency response of 0.5 to 120,000 hertz (-3dB). Output taps are provided for both four and eight ohm loudspeakers.
Two of the large analogue meters on the front are for the power ouputs, while the centre one shows line voltage.
The GSPre includes a tube-based phono pre-amp in addition to the line-level system. The phono section has an adjustable input impedance, while there are three unbalanced (RCA) line level inputs, and two balanced ones. Outputs are provide in both balanced and unbalanced form. A high quality headphone amplifier is included.
The GSi75 stereo integrated amplfier marries traditional high fidelity values with modern digital technology. Its vacuum tube amplifiers provide 75 watts of power per channel, again with both 4 and 8 ohm taps for the outputs. It also supports phono input signals and has a headphone output. But it covers the digital world as well, with a built-in DAC supporting from 44.1kHz to 192kHz sampling, supplied by optical or coaxial S/PDIF, or USB2.0.
All three units feature RS-232C interfaces for system integration. Australian pricing is yet to announced.
Audio Research is distributed in Australia by Synergy Audio Visual.
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.
Posted in: Hi-Fi
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