Price Paid:  $1000.00 from My Father

Summary:
These classic thirties are greats amps. When it was time to purchase new amps to accommodate my new system, my dad made me a crazy offer on one of these amps. Thirty was per channel was plenty to drive my B&W 602 s3. But as any good audiophile would do I had to try to find another for bi-amping wow what a difference, the soundstage is huge it extends beyond the walls and truly goes floor to ceiling. With the bi-amping you get the pleasure of 60 watts of pure clean A-B tube power. As with all tube items they can be a bit fussy, don’t cheep out on cables or interconnects, you will hear a difference. The level four straightwire interconnect and speaker cable will be fine. I would also suggest that you utilize a powered subwoofer, the vandersteen 2wq works well for my taste. When you buy these amps they are obviously all used by now, please spend the money to re-tube the amp(s), Sovtek 6550’s are great. The 6fq7’s (output) are really ease just find yourself some NOS G.E or Sovtek and you will be set. You may want to have someone other than your self re-tube the darn thing it is really dangerous. Do not laugh I am an electrical engineer, and I can tell you that the leads to check the bias is darn near lethal, I am not sure but over 200 volts going through my body doesn’t sound like a great time. I did it my self and seriously don’t know if I will do that again. But if you want GREAT tube sound, with really clear midrange and extended clean highs, with tight bass, you can have a great deal of fun with these monsters. Besides you can get these amps for around 1500-1800 dollars, you will never find a better pair of amps. Besides you only have to get one at a time.

Strengths:
Awesome power, this is real, tube power, not mosfet garbage. You will love the imaging and soundstage. And articulation is wonderful.

Weaknesses:
If this is your first tube gear, you will find the setup a bit of a hassle. If you are a tube veteran, like my self you will find nothing to complain about for this price point.

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from stereo shop consignment

Summary:
I saw this unit for sale used at a high end dealer and had to have it. This was a $3,000 amp 10 years ago. Outfitted with a new tubeset it is fantastic high-end bargain. Has performed trouble free after many hours of use. Solid build quality up to usual ARC standards. Only 30 watts but no trouble driving my von Schweikert speakers. Though sometimes overshadowed by the Classic 60, the '30 has no fans to induce audible noise into the room (this is an issue in small rooms during quiet passages in recordings). The '30 runs warm so ideally it should not be placed in a cabinet. I have not experimented with tubesets other than those offered by ARC as replacements for this unit. The Classic series continue to be in high demand (particularly in Japan) and represents a solid investment. I don't think it will necessarily increase in value, but I think it should continue to hold at about $1,000--depending on condition.

current system:
Audio Research Classic 30
Krell KSL
Classe CDP .3
SOTA Comet II
Musical Surroundings Phonomena
Nakamichi BX-300
von Schweikert VR-3 biwire
Synergistic speaker wire and interconnect

Strengths:
Build quality, high resale value, value for money

Weaknesses:
not really a weakness but leave on for at least 1 hr before serious listening. Runs very warm, needs proper placement

Similar Products Used:
Conrad Johnson Sonographe SA-250

Summary:
I just need to correct my previous review
obviously you cant drive b&w 801s with this amp
I was joking and didnt realise I wouldnt be able to edit the review

I do however feel strongly that this amp will control a difficlult load far better than any amp of similar or even doubble the power. Its for that reason that I find it so frustrating when I hear people say 30 watts isnt worth considering, it is!

You can get a fantastic sound from this amp and it will drive full range speakers - you just need to be careful which ones (ie not 801s :))

Summary:

This amplifier somehowe achieves the impossible, it combines this :

Its totally clean, correct, incredibly transparent, flat and provides every detail and truly amazing control : you get every layer off your recording with no clutter and no chance of one sound covering up another - just try really layered pieces like full orchestra rampages or some peter gabriel

with this :

the smoothest sweetest most captivating and subtly engrossing musical experience ive heard

what I mean is usually you dont get warts and all sound ..or a warm or colored or overly rich sound
..somehow you end up with the best of both approaches
and none of the weaknesses

the classic-30 gives you an amazingly "nice" sound, but still has totally flat and totally correct detail ..these things combined make for an inredibly different experience, its what hi fi should be, Ive heard many amps at many times the price and none of them have come close to the sound of the classic-30

buy one, i cant believe theyre so cheap second hand, they should have gone up in value ..I honestly feel they beat any new amp for the same or a higher price (say up to $4000)

Im using it with audio research interconnects, a classe ssp-25 (I upgraded from an audio research sp-9 to get home theatre) and audio physic virgo speakers

If you hear a second hand one sound a little lifeless get new valves - but even a flat one is worth its weight in gold.

Strengths:
Just brilliant, somewhat of a legend amongst those whove heard what it can do.

Weaknesses:
None. It doesnt need more power : use 4 ohm speakers (eg audio physic virgo or theil cs 3.6) - 60 watts of valve power is more than youd need for any normal room, it always keeps control, ive even had it drive b+w 801s (but ok that was pushing it :)

Similar Products Used:
I was able to afford amps 2-3 times the price, but I chose this one and still havent upgraded, although ive replaced the valves to keep it alive.

Summary:
I have this (2nd hand) amp since last week. And man, it is running smoothly, even at low volume levels. I am using it in combination with an old english tube amp (Beard P505) and B&W Matrix 804 speakers, Siltech interlinks.

Before the AR I have tested a 300B kit for a week. It was totally incapable of driving my B&W's: dull sound, with no high's at all. So I threw this thing out and swapped it for the AR.

I think I'm going to very happy with this amp. And, it will keep me warm in winter, too. Rated 5 *****

Strengths:
Everything, I think, for its price

Weaknesses:
Heat generation: it becomes really hot, even in idle conditions

Similar Products Used:
300B tube kit