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Bound to become an "Audio Legend", truly remarkable.
Ricardo Franassovici


In
April of 1970 Audio Research was founded as the sole American
manufacturer of exclusively vacuum-tube preamplifiers and power
amplifiers. Along the way, many Audio Research models became benchmarks
and collectors’ items as the company steadily built a reputation for
great performance and great value. It was never the most expensive
product line, but it never took a back seat to any other brand when it
came to performance.



The Audio Research team thought long
and hard about how to commemorate and continue this track record on the
occasion of its 40th anniversary. It would have to be a product so
special in its design, so groundbreaking in its performance, as to be
regarded appropriately as a true “Anniversary Edition.”
To
that end, Audio Research is pleased to announce the Anniversary Edition
Reference Preamplifier – a product that combines the best of our
knowledge and experience gained through the decades in order to provide
you with an experience of recorded music that eclipses anything you
have heard before. The Anniversary Edition will be available for only
one year, Audio Research’s 40th. One look and one listen will establish
it as the best value in its exalted class.
With twice the
power supply energy storage compared to previous Reference preamps and
using truly separate signal paths for each channel, the Anniversary
Edition could not be contained in a single chassis, and thus has
separate power supply and audio sections.
The dual-mono
power supply has separate low and high voltage transformers for each
channel, separate vacuum-tube regulation (6550C and 6H30) of each
channel, and tremendous energy storage for each channel, insuring
unrivalled dynamic headroom. Multiple stages of electronic regulation
of low- and high-voltage supplies are used. Separate umbilical cords
for each channel attach the power supply chassis to the audio chassis.
A single 20-amp IEC detachable power cord connects the A.C. to the
power supply. All critical components are custom designed and
manufactured solely for Audio Research.
The audio circuit
is what you would expect from Audio Research: all-tube, pure Class-A
triode, with zero feedback. For the fist time, the audio gain circuit
is dual-mono and uses eight 6H30 triodes, four in each channel. The
first thing you will notice in the audio control chassis are four
custom Teflon® coupling capacitors, each weighing more than two pounds.
Teflon bypass capacitors are mounted on the bottom of the main board.

The front panel layout is familiar, with knobs for Volume and Input
flanking the display. Six small aluminum buttons provide control
functions for Power, Processor, BAL/SE, Mono, Invert, and Mute. Silver
handles are standard. Black units are also available. Top covers for
both chassis are smoked acrylic for optimal sonics and aesthetic
appeal; black metal covers are optional at time of order at no
additional cost.
When it is turned on, the
vacuum-fluorescent display will read “Anniversary Edition Reference
Preamplifier 1970-1971” and it will begin to count up, year by year,
until it reads 1970-2010. At the end of the cycle the display returns
to normal, indicating volume, source, BAL/SE, and mute. As on other
current Reference products, the display can be dimmed or turned off,
with nine small pixels lit as a reminder that the unit is powered on.

Connectivity is typically flexible, with six sets of BAL/SE inputs
provided, plus a unity- gain pass-through input. There are two pairs of
BAL/SE main outputs along with a Monitor (record) output. 12-volt
triggers are included for remote turn-on.
Sonically, the
Anniversary Edition is simply the best preamplifier ever produced by
Audio Research in its 40 years of rigorous engineering effort. In every
sonically significant category – bandwidth, harmonic purity, ease of
delivery, musical dynamics (both large and small), bass depth, impact
and control, soundstage size and image specificity, delineation of the
recording venue – music is rendered with a realness and vividness that
is simply uncanny. This is a preamplifier that will deliver goose bumps
and command your attention in a way no other product has ever done.

Words can only fall short of your own experience. To understand how
profound your listening to favorite recordings can really be, you must
audition the Anniversary Edition. Prepare to be unhinged.