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Problem with Ref 5SE

I recently purchased a 5se and took delivery the other day. Did not get a chance to open it up until last night. Upon installing it into system I switched it on and after it warmed up, I was very much interested in hearing how it sounded against my current 27. After listening to several tracks with the 27 I switched pre's and after a couple of minutes playing a CD I got some noise, almost a loud static sound coming from the right channel. It was not effected by changing volume controls or input selector. It went away after 10-15 seconds and then returned. At that point, as it was late, I shut everything down and figured I would take another look in the morning.

This morning I removed the top cover and pulled and reset the output tubes and then the power tubes. I fired it back up and still had the 'static' sound but now it also had a humm, like an impedance type hum and constant. I do not believe that the humm was present last night as it is quite noticeable. 

The static type load noise seemed to have abated after the unit warmed up after maybe 15-30 minutes.

Can I assume that perhaps a tube was damaged during shipping? Do you ARC guys think a new set of tubes will fix this issue or am I looking at something more severe? Any additional suggestions to try and pin this down?

I rerouted the IC going to the amps to get them further away from source IC's and no help...

I am a little bummed, as my initial impression it that it is a leap from the LS27, my current...
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stevea11757's avatar
stevea11757 OP
130 posts
 
Update, sort of.... I just installed a PSA P20 that I had ordered before the pre, was kina hoping it was a ground loop issue, but apparently not as noise is still there. The loud static pop sound is no longer evident so I guess resetting tubes helped there. As these are original tubes with just over 1000 hours, to start I will just replace the 6550 and see what happens. Once I increases playback volume to drown out the background noise it really does sound very good a leap over the 27.  

Motorheadflash, that you for describing your issue, sounds pretty much identical. Seriously considering leaving the top unscrewed and removing it when I am doing some extended listening. The pre is on the top shelf of a stand that I made, so ventilation should not be an issue. All the components are sitting on vibration isolators which are sitting on a 1/2" block (so the rubber isolations do not mark the finish on the wood) so there is plenty of free air movement.
 
Tubes will be delivered tomorrow so tomorrow night will be the test. I will be letting everyone know if this was the problem....is it is I guess I should keep a spare handy..


arcguy's avatar
arcguy
26 posts
 
Some minor things to add that have partially been covered:
–If noise is coming out of both channels the problem is somewhere in the power supply. If the new tubes don't fix it then the problem is in the power supply circuit. 
–ARC feels that their products (and many others) sound better with no cover installed, but they can't recommend that. (Don't blame them.) The acrylic cover sounds like no cover at all, which is why they started shipping the Ref 5 with the acrylic, unless a metal cover is ordered. The Ref 6 has acrylic top and bottom covers.
–ARC switched to a thicker acrylic cover a couple of years ago. The original acrylic covers would often have a little dip over the 6550, which runs hot. It's an output tube that's used in the power supply!
–If a product comes from the manufacturer with the tubes packed separately then you should never ship that piece with the tubes installed. Shipping companies don't treat our stuff gently, and the tubes can come loose!
–I have my tube electronics in a cabinet but leave plenty of space above, and I took the back off. 
stevea11757's avatar
stevea11757 OP
130 posts
 
Well, it is official, problem is bigger than a power tube. Got replacement tubes, installed new power tubes and it made absolutely no difference. Will look for local authorized shop or send back to ARC if there are none close enuf.

Put the LS27 back into system and it is dead silent with same cables configuration, just swapped out pre's

Not that it matters, as either I get it fixed or have a paperweight, how is ARC on their repair work price wise? Am I looking at a Chevy or a BMW?
theo's avatar
theo
2,690 posts
 
I think the price wouldn’t be tonight out of line. I have only had warranty work done on 2 Pre-amps, but they have been great to communicate with. I would send it to them because 1) you’re in the hands of the designers 2) they will only use genuine parts 3) they may discover the problem could be something they did and decide to cover or partially cover the cost. But be prepared to wait, and you are with the LS27. 
tattooedtrackman's avatar
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tattooedtrackman
884 posts
 
I thought and I was right about what I posted on my opinion on this problem. I still feel as I posted something happened in transit. Especially that the tubes were left in their sockets. I would still contact the seller and talk to him about your problem as it has to go back to ARC  This is the sellers fault. At least he could give u half the shipping and repair cost. 
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