Audio Research Reference 330M Debuts at High End Munich 2024: A Game-Changing Tube Amplifier
By HiFi Editorial5 February 2026
Key Highlights
Audio Research unveiled the 330-watt/channel Reference 330M tube amplifier at High End Munich 2024.
Innovative design combines ECC83 tube, 6H30 stage, and silicon carbide JFETs for enhanced dynamics and tonal richness.
Features include solid-state/tube power regulation, balanced/single-ended inputs, and 4/8 Ohm outputs.
Audio Research has revealed a new contender in the high-powered tube amplifier realm, the Reference 330M, shown to the public during High End Munich 2024. Hints of its development suggested a direct lineage from earlier Reference models, yet it emerged with a fresh blend of design elements and carefully chosen new components. Its rated power clocks in at 330 watts per channel, aided by a fully balanced signal path and Pentode operation.
Underneath the chassis stands an ECC83 tube for voltage amplification, supported by bipolar transistors that preserve the tube character while maximizing input-stage headroom. Right behind it is a differential pair stage with a 6H30, biased through a DMOS current source, feeding an output section regulated by silicon carbide JFETs. This arrangement supplies the six KT170 output tubes with optimal quiescent current, enhancing dynamics and sonic refinement.
