ARC Ref 6 - Is it normal?

Which AC cable do you prefer the Furutech DSP 4 or Shunyata Sigma ?

OP. So what was the final outcome of the Ref 6 problem or not electric or the Power conditioner. Would like to know.   Ref 6 owner too. 

I think this is nothing related with my Audience power conditioner.  Because I also plug my Ref 6 directly into the wall outlet to get electricity.  Yes, my Ref 6 can switch on.  Buy next time I'm still unable to switch on my Ref 6 (By using both remote and power on/ off button on the Ref 6 panel).  What I need to do is to plug out my power cable off the wall, wait for about 30 to 40 seconds then plug it into the wall again. By doing this I can switch on my Ref 6 and now I need to do it eveyrtime when I use my Ref 6. There is no problem of my home's voltage (220 V) unless the equipment has a high voltage requirement.  I'm using many audio equipment which use 220 ~ 230V.  

My Ref 6's backside show 220 - 240V, the quality inspection certificate show 220 - 240V as well  but the box show 240V?!    I live in an area which use 220V (or 220V to 230V), what I guess maybe this Ref 6 is originally trade to UK or other country which use 240V voltage.  And I guess this Ref 6 is pre-set to 240V +/ - I0%  or 230V +/ - 10%, that why I have this problem. I  bought this with a audio equipment company and it is a 100% brand new product.  My supplier is in long Chinese New Year holiday now and they said will help me to follow up this matter after holiday in next week.   But they told me this Ref 6 don't need to adjust the voltage to 220V.  What problem you think it is?  Do you think the power on/ off button has bad contact so that it can get power?   THX. 

...my Ref 6 cannot turn-on from time tom time. I already check very careful my power cable is fully plugged into my Ref 6 and my Audience aR6-TSS power conditioner very tight. What I need to do is to switch-off my Audience power conditioner, wait for about 10 seconds then switch it on. After this, I can turn-on my Ref 6. Recently I found this problem comes out very often....

Reply from ARC customer services:

Your power conditioner may regulate the voltage, which would prevent the voltage dip that the REF 6 is detecting.

I believe that none of the Audience conditioners provide voltage regulation. (I use their aR2p conditioner, by the way). However they are said to provide "partial power factor correction," which I suspect refers to some kind of passive (rather than active) power factor correction (PFC). During the 10 second period you referred to presumably the capacitors in that circuit are discharging, and (just my guess) the root cause of the problem might be some kind of interaction between the Ref 6 and the PFC circuit. With the presumably lower line voltage during the present cold weather period that you mentioned perhaps also being a contributing factor.

I would suggest that you do two things:

1)Try plugging the Ref 6 directly into the wall outlet, and see if the problem still occurs.

2)Get a multimeter and measure your line voltage, both when the problem occurs and when it does not occur.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

One of the main advantages of having a power conditioner in the first place is getting a regulated constant voltage as your AC power fluctuates. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, a gear such as a ARC Ref 6 deserves a dedicated circuit. Sharingthe same circuit with an electric heater which probably has thermostatically controlled on/off switch with a piece of gear like that Ref6 is borderline criminal.🙄

Reply from ARC customer services:

Your power conditioner may regulate the voltage, which would prevent the voltage dip that the REF 6 is detecting.

There is another problem I have found,  my Ref 6 cannot turn-on from time tom time.  I already check very careful my power cable is fully plugged into my Ref 6 and my Audience aR6-TSS power conditioner very tight. What I need to do is to switch-off my  Audience power conditioner, wait for about 10 seconds then switch it on. After this, I can turn-on my Ref 6. Recently I found this problem comes out very often.   But last month when the temperature was not very cold, I don't  have this problem (I just bought my Ref 6 in Jan).  I only have this problem  recently when the temperature getting  cold.  I guess maybe my apartment use a lot of current because many neighborhood use heater in evening.  At a result, voltage is drop.  Do you think this is the problem?  How can I solve this problem?  (but in my area - Hong Kong,  cold season is very short, maybe only 1 to 2 months a year).

Another thing I forgot to mention, I'm using a Shunyata 15A to 20A IEC converter for my Furutech DPS-4 power cable on Ref 6.  Do you think this is also a problem because of bad connection on Ref 6?

PS:  I just bought a 20A version brand new Shunyata  Sigma Analog PC for my Ref 6 today, I haven't use it yet and I hope it may solve this problem.

Check and make sure your ac cord is fully plugged into the back of the ref 6.
I also had this problem once fixed it by fully inserting the 20 amp pc cord.

I aware this low current problem came from a heater was using when I switch on my Ref 6. And I just check this heater, the output is 1,000W !!
When I don’t use it, there warning message does not exist from my Ref 6. Everything is clear now. THX!

A conditioner doesn’t do anything if there’s an issue on the other side of the outlet.

That depends on the power conditioner. Some can regulate AC voltage and thus keep it at a proper level even when the line level is low.

Yes, I find this on Ref 6 user manual page 5. 

Quote:
When sensing low line voltage, the preamp displays “Low Line” and automatically goes into “Mute”. This condition will persist until the line voltage returns to a safe operating level,. The unit will remain in “Mute” even after “Low Line” no longer appear. 

I’ve never seen that issue. A conditioner doesn’t do anything if there’s an issue on the other side of the outlet. 

Low voltage isnt isn’t as bad as too much (a surge). I know that if you run an AC on half power for prolonged periods*, it can damage the unit, but I don’t know about preamps. 

* the 240V wiring to the outdoor compressor was wrong and I had to replace the unit. 

cleeds

No, I haven't check it and I was not award about this at that time.  I connect all my equipments to an Audience sR6-TSS power conditioner. When I play music last night, it seem everything OK. 

It sounds like you might have low AC voltage. Have you checked it?