ARC Ref 3: Tung-Sol 6550 in power supply?

Hi Guidocorona,

The details of the Tungs are as follows:

Pair of 1957 Tung-Sol 6550 tubes. The tubes were " MADE IN U.S.A." by Tung-Sol and the matching production code is 3225711-3 . The construction is superb with smooth black plates, triple top mount rectangular getters, copper grid posts (killer) and tight metal bases with strong guide shafts. They were tested for gas, leakage and merit on my Eico 667 tester where the 60-80 range is somewhat acceptable. The tubes tested 136 and 136, very strong on the life test and matched.

Cheers,

Broederen

Broederen, if the tubes are 6550 types, one of them can probably be inserted in the single 6550-compatible socket in the power supply of the Ref 3. As Tung Sols seem to be fatter than SEDs, make sure that the lower portion of the glass does not touch the 6H30 tube beneath it. G.

Thanks Guidocorona

I have replaced the Svetlana 6550 with a 1957 Tung Sol. I'm surprised by the difference in sound. I'm not so good in describing but its seems tighter bass, increased resolution and more "punch". And the system is now playing only for a couple of hours.......................

I can imagine that for a company like ARC it is not possible to put these type of 6550's in simply because of costs and even more constraining: availability!

Cheers,

Broederen

hello forum members ,my local dealer supplied me a Tung-sol NOS 6L6WGB to try in my REF 3 , now the tube is 120 hrs in the amp .I like this upgrade . some month ago I also changed the other tubes to 6H30P-DR . This alltogether
made my REF 3 in my opinion a more musical machine .later on I will tell you the major upgrade my local dealer did in the REF 3 .This upgrade takes some more breakin time.
greetings from Holland Hans

Dear all,

I encountered an issue. After replacing the Svetlana with a Tung-sol 6550 Black Plate I experienced sometimes a moment without sound. After some time the sound came back (black-out?). Now my REF3 is dead. I replaced the Tung-sol with the original Svetlana and still no music! I checked everything including connections etc. What can have happened?