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ARC Quality Issues Ref75 Ref5SE Ref10

Over the past two years I had several issues with ARC Ref gear and am wondering if I'm the only one out there having so much "bad luck"?

My issues started when I bought a Ref5SE plus Ref75.
The two meters in the Ref75 had a noticeable different color and had to be replaced by my dealer.

Two of the Ref5SE tube sockets were soldered crooked to the board. I found a loose screw bouncing around inside the chassis when I unpacked it and found that the two crooked tube sockets were not even bolted down to the metal support on the main board. ARC apologized and replaced the brand new Ref5SE.

The replacement Ref5SE blew up after 600 hrs of use. A small component in the power section exploded with a single loud bang with smoke following.

To not end up with a nearly new but repaired preamp I upgraded to Ref10. The Ref10 power section also blew up after two months and only 390 hrs of use. One or more of the smaller white caps in the power section exploded (four or five significant and loud bangs with smoke). My dealer just informed me that ARC is going to replace the failed Ref10 against a brand new one.

I can not believe I am the only one having repeated problems with ARC's new gear!?

Feedback and comments will be greatly appreciated !
decibell
no_money
638 posts
 
Yes, they replaced the tube, no problems there.
dweller's avatar
dweller
3,781 posts
 
The 6H30 is rated for 10,000 hours of service.
Mine lasted 5 or 6 months (i.e., outside of warranty window).
I don't know why I purchased from ARC instead of BAT (my Father used to "spread his business around" -I must have been copying him).
I won't stray in the future.
Merry Christmas!
no_money
638 posts
 
At 2x normal retail, I really don't expect a DOA tube though.
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,871 posts
 
The idea of buying a "vetted" tube at a much higher price is an interesting concept. IMHO, who ever thought of it was a very smart marketing person. The question is....how much validity is there to this approach for the a'phile consumer?
The other question that comes to mind, is how many non-"vetted" tubes can one buy for the same price as the "vetted" tube? Something to maybe ponder, LOL.
tsushima1
1,165 posts
 
@Bifwynne, whilst the points that you make are known to me, however as there have been a sufficient number of instances reported where drift, or critical failure of bias resistors has occurred, and where the clock time on OPT's has past the initial phase where a weak tube may fail early and well within the usable life span of an KT120, For me, to reason, that a slight increase in current handling of the bias resistor, whilst remaining at the same ARC specification Ohmic value, may provide an increased margin of function, without compromising their additional role as a fail safe.
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