AXPONA 2025

I almost missed Audio Research and Acora’s pairing in the “Living Room” area of the mezzanine, adjacent to where people dined and lounged. I waited to stop by until first thing on Sunday morning, when music wasn’t blasting and people were in a far mellower mood than on eager-beaver Friday or crowded Saturday.

I was delighted to meet three of the central members of Audio Research’s refreshed team: Craig Myers, the electrical engineer who served as head designer on the LS2 preamplifier described below; Les Robinson, co-general manager at Audio Research and the mechanical engineer who contributed graphics, edging, and parts layout to the LS2; and Evan Skucius, co-general manager, sonic evaluator, and lead problem solver. Together, Robinson and Skucius run Audio Research.

I asked Valerio Cora, who owns both Audio Research and Acora, to elaborate on the “sonic evaluator” role. By email, he replied, “Every single piece of gear is evaluated by ear to make sure it passes our stringent expectations. We firmly believe that you can hear things that cannot be measured. So, first it is bench-tested and measured, and then it is listened to.”

This responsibility falls on two individuals, Audio Research mainstay Warren Gehl and relative newcomer Skucius. “If one of them does not sign off on the unit, it does not leave the factory or repair floor,” Cora wrote. “They are also responsible for evaluating new prototypes and release candidates, choosing which components, wires, and layout will be used, reporting sonic design issues, and providing proper explanations that the team uses to build our products. I call this position a ‘sonic evaluator’; another name for it is ‘golden ear.’”

In conversation, Myers explained that he’s a longtime audiophile whose odyssey began with a Dynaco ST-70. Given that his reference system is built around low-power single-ended-triode amplification, he had a sharp learning curve.

“I took home a classic SP-3 and ST-70-C3, understood how unique their sound was, and pretty much matched it. It’s amazing how similar they are. You can still see Bill Johnson’s vision in the sound. It produces the same soundstage, depth, and air, and conveys the dynamic impact of solid state without sounding overly warm.”

Of his part, Robinson said, “My contribution has been figuring out how to fit more and more into the chassis, including larger transformers and power supplies, while maintaining our tradition of hand soldering.”

Because there was a lot going on around us and listening to systems in boundary-less spaces is rarely convincing, I instead contented myself with talking and taking notes. Playing in the background were the new Audio Research LS2 preamplifier with optional DAC and phono stage ($9950 as shown; base price $8450) and S100 solid state amplifier ($9450), an Aurender A20 streamer ($15,000), Acora MRC-2 loudspeakers in optional Forest leathered-brown finish ($15,990/pair in special finish), an Acora SRR-H lowboy granite equipment rack ($7500), and Cardas cabling. An Audio Research I/70 integrated amplifier, not in use at the time of the photo, came loaded with DAC/phono ($11,450, $9950 base price).