Audio Research Reference 6 - Now with FREE AQ NRG-1000 20A power cord!

EDIT: AudioQuest NRG-1000 20 Amp, 3-foot power cord now included FREE at my asking price of $8300! This cord represents a solid upgrade over the stock 20A cord. It's the innermost cord of 3 in my picture with the 3 power cords - the one with coffee & black outer and with black NRG-1000 plugs; excellent condition (contact me if you prefer the pictured Hurricane HC or WEL Signature, both 20A, at additional cost). I have the original factory box for all my AQ powercords, and they're 100% guaranteed genuine. Also - I'm not coming down on price anymore on this Ref 6 for a while, so if it sits here then so be it.   

Please read my description of this item and what's included VERY carefully, especially since this is a large $$$$ transaction. If you make it through all my text you will be an informed buyer!

I am absolutely crazy for selling my beautiful, black (much fewer of these come up used) Reference 6. This unit SOUNDS PHENOMENAL. I guarantee it will make almost all other preamps sound broken by comparison. I bought this Ref 6 in August 2017 from the guy with that HUGE amp comparisons thread in this forum (Jay's Audio Lab on youtube). You can actually go and read his thoughts on this very same unit. I received it with 520 hours - not quite fully burned in yet. Since then, this preamp has been an anchor in my main system; we now have a total of 3,352 hours (note: I never reset the tube hour counter so this is the number that displays). The unit itself has performed flawlessly - never a misstep. However, the original remote literally wore out. I bought a replacement from ARC and it's now made of plastic, and unfortunately the battery door piece already has a crack in it (see pic). I've replaced the full tube set 3 times; I'm very conservative and replace tubes well before their time to avoid mishaps. The current tube set, included in this sale, has 500 hours, and consists of 7x "ARC Select" grade 6H30pi tubes from Upscale Audio, plus a Platinum-grade Gold Lion KT88 (you can sub KT88 for the 6550).   

This unit looks beautiful in person, with a perfect front face. I am rating it 7 to be safe (see caveats), but it's almost a crime to rate something this beautiful only a 7. The display is also as bright and beautiful as new.  

CAVEATS:

• The plastic remote has a slight crack in battery door lid (noted above)
• The standard acrylic top deforms & sags from the heat of the 6550/KT88 power tube, when on. This occurs even with infinite clearance above the unit (I tried everything). Many units of this model do the same, whether the owners notice it or not. The top now has a slight permanent sag. But mostly I ran this unit with either cover OFF, or with the alternative steel metal top (sourced from ARC), which is unaffected by the heat.
• The right side panel has a few very small dings towards the back. Please see pic. It does not notably detract from the overall beauty of this unit.
• Please note the Reference 6 only accepts a 20-Amp power cord plug! Normal 15-amp power cords will not fit in its socket. I lost the stock 20A power cord supplied with this unit, but you really need to do better than a stock PC anyways, at this level. I am now including a wonderful AudioQuest NRG-1000 20A cable FREE, which represents a solid upgrade over the missing stock cord.
• (Calfeat) Check out my well-muscled calf in the display reflection in 1st pic! You'd better believe I'm busting out some shorts for the ladies this summer, lol

What IS included:

• Factory packing materials & boxes
• Manual / sign-off papers
• ARC Plastic Remote (they switched over from metal to plastic remotes a couple years ago)
• Full tube set with 500 hours usage - Upscale Audio "ARC Select Grade" for the 6H30pi, and "Platinum Grade" for the Gold Lion KT88
• Stock ARC tube dampers (black rubber rings) for all seven 6H30pi tubes
• AudioQuest NRG-1000 3ft 20A power cord
• Your choice of stock acrylic top OR alternative black steel top (please specify).
• The preamp unit itself, of course - owned and beloved previously by TWO amazing audiophiles; what a pedigree!

What is NOT included:

• The stock 20-Amp power cord. Yes, I somehow managed to lose this! The now-included NRG-1000 is way better anyways.
• The Herbie's Audio Labs "Halo" tube dampers as pictured
• The cool yellow-handled screwdriver that comes with new units. I think most of us already own a suitable screwdriver.
• A friendly llama that speaks a small amount of French

Whew! You made it, traveler. And before you ask why I'm selling such a wonderful piece, I'll answer you: I have gradually been working towards a full VAC amplification chain in my main system. This Ref 6 was the last holdout, and it works WONDERFULLY with the VAC phono stage and power amps, btw. I'm still terrified I will badly regret this sale. However, I just dropped a LARGE check for VAC's Master preamplifier ($28K), so I think it's finally time for this wonderful old friend of mine to find a good new audiophile home.