2. amps-preamps
  3. 153086-109191

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...
128x128stevea11757
ghasley
2,507 posts
 
You should send it back to the seller for a full refund. Heres why, you will go several weeks, maybe a month or two and the claim will be denied by the shipping company. Why? The seller improperly packed it. It wasnt the shipping companys fault. The seller will dispute the denial, and the shipper will prevail. You would have noticed the box damage. In addition, you are not a party to the contract between shipper and seller.
As time passes, things will slow to a crawl and you will see on the horizon your ability to dispute the transaction slowly fading into the sunset. Get your money back, you are already out a bundle on time, inconvenience and the tubes you purchased but may never use.

good luck.
testpilot
972 posts
 
Did the shipping box show signs of obvious damage?  Did you take pictures of the damage before opening the package?  Did you report the damage to the courier company ASAP?  If the answers are no to the previous questions, I’m afraid your claim will be denied.  Right now, you think that damage occurred during shipping but no physical damage can be seen. Hopefully, it will be an easy and quick fix. 
audioconnection
1,271 posts
 
Try to put in a new 6550 and enjoy x mas The tubes always get removed when shipping. Check that the electrolytic caps axial leads are intact as he probably forgot to read the instructions with reinstalling the removable shipping protectors underneath the big Caps
 Read the well-written Manual its probably an easy fix Best JohnnyRAudio ConnectionARC dealer
  
tattooedtrackman's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
tattooedtrackman
884 posts
 
Also agreed to what Johnny R from Audio Connection said about the large caps. They also needed to be secured with the foam pads that Arc uses to secure them with shipping. I forgot to mention that also. Both my 5se and 6 came to me with the foam under the large caps during shipping. Including all the tubes removed from sockets and secured in small box with foam during shipping. 
stevea11757's avatar
stevea11757 OP
130 posts
 
Well, I understand all the suggestions to send the unit back, but the seller is eager to make this right.

Stopped by HEAR today, spent 2 1/2 hours with Ben and we found the failure. Apparently ARC never considered the possibility of rough handling during shipping. The output coupling capacitors are tied together using what I would assume is some sort of foam backed double face tape so they form a single group. They are not anchored to the pc board by anything but their leads. If the unit (new or pre-owned) is dropped on the side ignoring the Fragile This Side Up labels all over the box, then  they move as a group and depending on how hard a drop and the number of times the leads break. This is what happened in this case, two capacitors leads broke, one on each channel, so that was the hum in each channel.

So two caps will need replacing, as while I was there he de-soldered the four caps and now it is just getting the parts in and installing. He will make a minor modification to attach the caps to the board to keep them from moving....a bad design for a group of caps with some weight behind them when they are fixed together.
More to discover