A new beginning…
It has been nearly seven years since Roger passed away and we have been diligently trying to keep his legacy alive by continuing to sell tubes, equipment, and perform service work. Roger’s education initiative also persisted although not through the Berkeley Hi-Fi School. Instead, we created Roger’s Corner here on the site and digitized a lot of content making it accessible to all who desire to learn from one of the best minds in the industry. Roger’s vision for the RM-10 MkIII amplifier came to life as well. No small task especially as we had to navigate through COVID for a portion of the project.
It is one thing to try and keep a business alive but another thing altogether to try and keep someone’s legacy alive. Continuing to evolve and making the best of the situation was all we could do and it was a crowning achievement when we started selling MkIII kits with one builder exhibiting his MkIII at an audio show in Las Vegas. If Roger were alive, he would have been extremely proud, heck he would have flown to Las Vegas to be there in person.
Speaking of evolving, at the beginning of this year I received my Italian citizenship and so I made the decision to retire for good. That decision led to me to reflect quite a bit on what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I recalled when my friend Gino closed his restaurant several years ago and retired. For a retirement gift I took him back to Napoli, his place of birth, to visit his family and friends there, many of whom he had not seen in a generation. Funny thing though, I only got him a one way ticket. As he had worked pretty much non-stop for 50 years, I told my friend to take this opportunity to stay in Italy a while and enjoy retirement. He never came back and is living his best life now.
So now I feel this is the time to make some changes so that I can take the next step in life. With that comes some difficult decisions:
Effective June 1, 2026, we stopped repair services for legacy Music Reference products. However, should you purchase a fully built warrantied RM-10 MkIII from us we will perform warranty service if required. If you have a legacy product that requires service, we highly recommend Scott Frankland & Associates in San Jose, CA. You can contact them at scottfrankland@att.net.
Effective June 15, 2026, we sold our entire inventory of vacuum tubes and as such RAM Tubes has shut down its online vacuum tube sales. However, RM-10 MkIII kits are available at our online store.
While we are closing the vacuum tube sales side of the business this is not the end of Music Reference, but rather a new beginning. Due to the success we are having with RM-10 MkIII kit sales we will continue to develop new kits for DIYers based on Roger’s designs. In addition, we will still do small projects and one off builds upon request. So come back and visit the site to see what we are up to or contact us. Messages will be monitored and responded to. We know some of our supporters will be disappointed by these decisions, but we thank all of you for your continued support of Music Reference and RAM Tubes throughout the years.
This DIY kit includes all circuit parts (excluding tubes), printed circuit board, hardware, top and bottom plates, transformer cover (the original while they last), frame, and transformers. A basic assembly manual will also be provided that includes schematics, a bill of materials, and test data sheet. Please allow 7 to 10 business days after payment for the kit to ship.
Music Reference RM-10 MK III Kits
RAM Tubes is pleased to announce on the 6th anniversary of Roger’s passing that a select number of RM-10 MkIII kits are available for purchase. The build level is rated as difficult, and you should consider yourself to have advanced DIY skills and knowledge of audio electronics concepts and circuits, as well as the proper equipment to do the job. Note that RAM Tubes will not provide support for the DIY build.