Audio Research

This article contains promotional content. Please help improve it by removing promotional language and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a neutral point of view. (June 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Audio Research Corporation ("ARC") is one of the oldest manufacturers of high-end audio equipment still in operation. The company was known to be a pioneer at advancing state-of-the-art audio reproduction in the 1970s, and for re-introducing the vacuum tube as the primary active amplification device. With the help of reviews in audiophile publications such as Stereophile and The Absolute Sound, it solidified its position as a well-respected audio manufacturer. Many industry observers consider the founder, William Zane Johnson, as one of the true originators of the entire concept of high-end audio as it exists today.^[1] As audio critic Jonathan Valin put it:  “Where would the high end be without William Zane Johnson . . . ?”  and “As with so many of my generation, he and his creations are the high end to me – and always will be."^[2]

The company was founded by William Z. Johnson in 1970 and was originally located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ARC moved from Plymouth to Maple Grove, MN^[3] in August 2018. Johnson began designing custom audio electronics in the early 1950s and was the former owner of Electronic Industries, a specialty audio retail store in Minneapolis until the mid-1960s. Johnson died on December 10, 2011, in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 85.^[4]

In 2008, ARC was acquired by Fine Sounds SpA, which owned Sonus faber loudspeakers. Fine Sounds acquired several other highly esteemed high-end audio companies, including Sumiko, Wadia, and McIntosh Laboratories. In 2014, Fine Sounds Group was purchased by a group headed by Charles Randall and Mauro Grange. In 2016 the group was renamed McIntosh Group.^[5]

In late August 2020, ARC was acquired by TWS Enterprises, LLC, a privately held company owned wholly by Trent Suggs, former North American Sales Manager^[6] TWS Enterprises, LLC is a privately-owned company created to hold ARC equities; it is not part of a group. The objective for TWS Enterprises is to further enhance brand reputation and to focus on the unique processes that nourish the culture and product innovation at Audio Research.

In May 2023, ARC was purchased by Valerio Cora, who also founded and owns Acora Acoustics.^[7] Mr. Cora had been a long-term owner of Audio Research electronics and used ARC electronics to display with Acora speakers at consumer audio shows.^[8] Mr. Cora stated in an interview that he wants to chart a path forward that honors the legacy and core values of Audio Research, while embracing innovation and evolution.^[9] Audio Research and Acora Acoustics will remain separate entities, each following their own independent paths in the future.

• Kessler, Ken, "Audio Research: Making the Music Glow". 2020.

• Official website