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Audio Research · D-series tube power amplifiers

D-79

The top of the D-series at the end of the 1970s - a large valve unit with three documented revisions (D-79A, D-79B, D-79C MKII).

Catalogue code
D-79
Years
1979
Type
power amplifier (tube)
Valves & speakers
Original list $3,250 (D-79B $3,950, D-79C MKII $6,000) [ARCDB]
Lifecycle
retired
Confidence
Medium
Channels
2
Technology
tube
Class_of_operation
not stated in the catalogue sheet
Safety

Valve equipment: 400-500 V is present on the plates and stored in the supply after switch-off. ARC units are valve-matched at the factory - replacement sets must be bought as matched quads/pairs.

How this model is dated
01 / Witnesses

What applies here

Marks that can be entered for this maker: Model / catalogue number, Model / catalogue number, British capacitor code (Hunts, Mullard), Japanese capacitor code (Nichicon, Chemi-Con, ELNA), EIA component code.

02 / Bounds

The model year is a floor

Nothing predates 1979; components only push the date later.

03 / Value

What moves the price

Sold-listing reading: fair EUR 3,300, good EUR 3,300, excellent EUR 6,000 EUR · 5 sold listings (thin sample — indicative only) · as of 2026-10-17. Asking prices only - these are live listings, not completed sales. 5 listing(s) in EUR observed on 2026-10-17 via the HiFi Shark marketplace aggregator; min/median/max of the observed asks are used as fair/good/excellent, which is a reading of the ask spread, not a condition grading. Listings in other currencies were seen and counted for the spread but are not converted here (see the journal): USD x1.

Related models
D-1101979–1980 · power amplifier (tube) · D-series tube power amplifiersD-3501979–1980 · power amplifier (tube) · D-series tube power amplifiersD-761974–1977 · power amplifier (tube) · D-series tube power amplifiersSP-51978–1980 · preamplifier (tube) · SP-series tube preamplifiersSP-61978 · preamplifier (tube) · SP-series tube preamplifiersSP-101983 · preamplifier (tube) · SP-series tube preamplifiers

Evidence: ARCDB — Audio Research model database · HiFi Shark — live listings aggregator