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Audio Research Tube AMP Reliability

I was out shopping for amps this weekend, and I ran across a guy getting his ARC tube amp repaired.

He said he really like it, but he has gone through tube replacements, and he had the thing burn up on him, the power lines on the board had smoked and burned. I saw the splices on the board, the damage was pretty big, and about $500 in repairs.

The owner of the shop said he got in ARC amps often due to poor design and reliability.

I am interested in ARC because the reviews are great, but I was wondering if other folks are having trouble with their ARC Amps?

How about the Pre-Amps?

Thanks,
Scott
128x128scottlanterman
scottlanterman's avatar
scottlanterman OP
24 posts
 
I wonder if the root cause is not buying the ARC tubes, and not having a certified tech install them. ARC has been around a long time, and there are a ton of used AMPS still running, and many of them have non ARC tubes and were installed by the owners. I wonder if this is adding to this issue of reliability because of the volume of these amps still in use.

Do folks have any issues when they always buy direct from ARC so that the current balance is within their factory spec?
hifigeek1
770 posts
 
Most people do not want to spend the money for ARC tubes as they are expensive. I won't fix an ARC amp unless I can use ARC tubes pure and simple. I have had way too many problems with tubes from other vendors and it becomes a huge headache. And yes, it can definitely cause a reliability issue.
basile
11 posts
 
[I got my VS115 "repaired" from the local ARC service. They told me that the amp is fine, they couldn't find anything. I heard a blast after ca. 250 hours during the warm up period -- I checked the bias and i measured at all tubes 90mA. I also asked ARC about it but they wrote to me a short text "pls. adjust the bias to 65mA". Is there a logical explanation for that ? Ok the amp sounds great but could it happen again? Please advice - thanks for your feedback]
hifigeek1
770 posts
 
Well your bias difference is odd..What did you mean by "blast". Did a tube arc? Bias can fluctuate depending on your line voltage and the accuracy of your volt meter. BTW its 65 mV not mA as you are measuring across a resistor not in series with the resistor.
bezimienny
53 posts
 
I've owned a SP9MkIII pre-amp for 13 years, from new, and the only problem was a rocker switch which failed, needing replacement. Used a variety of 6922s without issues, currently NOS Mullard.

Regarding power amps, had a D70 for a year, and then a D125 for 8 years(both second hand) - in both cases they developed faults which the local (Sydney, Australia)technicians could not fix, despite repeated costly attempts. Loved the sound, especially of the D125, but ownership was frustrating - for the last two years the D125 pretty much sat unused, and old Luxman SS amp filled the gap.

I'm afraid I wouldn't buy another ARC power amp.
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