for the money there is so much better out there dont go for the krells either there nothing special. go for a gryphon they are the nicest sounding amplifiersi think they are superbly built and they sound outstanding only one problem there so damed big. when you listen to the gryphon 100 its like youve died and went to heavan

This is a great little amplifier. Form experience they work magic on the Sound Dynamics 300 Ti loudspeaker. Some may think this is overkill for a $600 loudspeaker, but the 300Ti's are defineately up to the task. This is part of my 2nd system and gives my many hours of musical pleasure.

I was using a Bryston 3BLP which I thought was a nice amp. Boy, was I wrong. The D130 is so much more musical. Where before I would get tired of listening after 45 minutes, I now want to listen more and more. I am using B&W speakers with a Bryston preamp.

I love it!

Great power, clarity, very laid back

None

Great sounding amp for the money. Very musical. I also demoed my dealers 100.2. The 100.2 was better, but I chose to save the $1,500 difference. Would definitely recommend the D-130. It sounds great with my LS-15 preamp!

Similar Products Used:

B&K

After seeing the post from Bill, I thought some additional information was in order. YES, we do all have the same taste in Amps. Sean is my oldest son. He purchased his amp about the same time as I did. His application is with Vandersteen Model 2c's & a Yamaha DSP A 1000 Home theater set up. Quite different from my 2 channel set up. I can assure you that the report he gave is his, not mine. His younger brother, J MICHAELS (screen name), is a college student, again with ideas all his own. He is using his ARC D-130 with Vandersteen 1 B's, B & K pre-amp, AVP 1000 (one of my old ones)in his dorm room. Again his application is much different than mine or that of his brothers. When he learned of the reviews that I & his brother did, he didn't want to left out. I must share with everyone. If we did not think the ARC-130 was a Great Amp, we would not have purchased them. I must admitt that I feel that the choices my sons made were influnced by mine. I can assure anyone reviewing this site, that my sons reviews are theirs, not mine. I have since purchased a pair of Jeff Rowland Research Model 7's for my system. A move I am sure they can not follow for finicial reasons.
The ARC D-130 in my opinion still remains one of the best audio buys around. As the other reviews here point out, there are better amps around, but at much higher prices than this one. On the used market this amp goes for somewhere between $900 & $1,100. It is worth every penny, which is why I reccomended it to my sons. Lots of excellent sound for the money. Much better than Adcom or B & K at about the same price.

The detail & soundstage are typical ARC, excellent. Compare this amp with any in the same price range (used market)& the D-130 usually wins in every case. This amp likes warm up time. If you can invest at least an hour, or even two, before you sit down to spend the evening with this amp, it will reward your wait. ARC even suggest leaving the amp on all the time. If you are not concerned with the power consumption (very low) this is a good idea. This amp is sorta like a new girlfriend, first impressions are good, but not always accurate. Spend a little time with her & get to know her better, you may be pleasently surprised. I think that accuratly describes this amp. If you don't have to time to invest, it may not be the best choice for you.

Thanks for the form, responces welcomed.

Disappointed.

Audio Research's step into the world of solid state was met with enthusiasm, high hopes, and great expectations. I am mainly a fan and user of tube products, but I have had and enjoyed many fine solid state amps before. I had hope that the D130 would let me just enjoy the music and not worry about the tube or transistors in the amp. First of all, this amp creates a very good soundstage with good imaging to match. This aspect is expected from Audio Research products, and they do not let us down here. Starting at the top end, the high frequencies are clear and clean, but there seems to be a sense of brightness that would not go away. Try listening to music with bells or high frequency percussions, and this brightness is always noticable. Where this amp shines is in the midrange. The midrange is smooth and sweet almost like tube amps, but not actually there yet. It has got one of the better midrange than most other s.s. amps. The low end region is where this amp is flawed. There is a sense of midbass, but it is not tight or impressive as one might expect from an s.s. amp. I've heard lower powered tube amps having stronger and tighter bass than this amp. Also, the amp seems to be slow in the dynamics area. Listen to large orchestral pieces or fusion jazz and the slowness of the dynamics and lack of bass is all to obvious. It seems that Audio Research has decided to build a solid state circuit with a vacuum tube mentality, which do not mix well togther. It seems that they have concetrated on getting the midrange as close to tubes as possible while leaving everything else as an afterthought. It is a good quality amp, but there are many other amps in its price range, from pure s.s. manufacturer, that will outshine it, such as the much more clear, detailed, and precise McCormacks or the inpressively dynamic and powerful Aragons. This amp is built very well, but it does not meet expectations of an Audio Research product and will most likely end up in the clearance sale section of your local high end audio salon.

I only spent an hour with the D130 but that was enough to enable me to come to a conclusion. The amp is downright disappointing. Enough said...

Tight bass, excellent soundstage/imaging. Smooth midrange and treble.

None

I am very thankful to have found a demo model to purchase as this amp has now been discontinued. That is a shame because ARC managed to create a great product at a decent price.

This product brought new life to my system with tighter bass and a level of detail I thought was unattainable at this price point. It also has a way of sounding warm without losing any resolution. Leave the amp turned on as much as possible and you will reap many rewards for it. It just keeps getting better and better as the unit warms up.

I'm not sure there's much more to say that hasn't been said already in some of the previous reviews. I agree with most if not all of the positive comments posted before me. I would like to add a comment about the positive response I've received from the folks at ARC. Dave Gordon in particular has demonstrated outstanding customer service skills by talking to me at great lengths about their products along with any other audio-related questions I had. He also was willing to help me search the country for a D130 once the product had been discontinued.

If you have the opportunity to pick up one of these on the used market or as a dealer demo model, run don't walk to do so. The price point of this amp causes it to compete with many mid-fi products (such as Adcom and Rotel) but yet it offers performance far above the others.

Here is my current setup:
Theta Pearl CD Transport
Genesis Digital Lens
Theta Prime IIa DAC
Adcom GFP-750 Preamp
Magnepan MMG Speakers
Transparent Audio Interconnects, Speaker Cables, and Power Cords
NBS Digital Cables

Similar Products Used:

Adcom 5500, Adcom 5503, Rogue Audio 88

I found this amplifier to have a very clean sound. Not muddied by a lot of over emphasized bass. Voices were very clear. Build quality is exceptional.Definitely worth five stars.