Solid State to replace Audio Research REF110?

Until we hear back from the man with the soldiering iron, let's hold judgment.

Gpgr4blu makes some fair points. ARC engineers are not amateurs and it should be a given that they know what they are doing. In furtherance of these points, I would fall out of my chair if it turned out that the reason ARC didn't use drop in fuses or similar protective components was just to save a couple of bucks. The MSRPs of the REF 150, REF 250 and REF 750 are $13K, $26K and $55K, respectively. It would be madness to think a reputable company like ARC would look to save a couple of bucks on some cheapo parts making such expensive equipment unless the designers sincerely believed that "more would be less."

Look ... I get the crabbing. I've owned ARC tube amps for quite a few years. I don't like the PITA inconvenience of calling a service tech to my house. More than the out-of-pocket repair costs, I miss not having the use of my system. So I think I get it.

Now ..., let's flip it around and ask these simple questions: How well does ARC gear work? Putting a finer point on the question, how good does it sound? The short answer to the first question is, except for the infrequent pesky open bias resister issue, I never had any other problems. And the answer to the second question is, IMO, excellent. Of course folks have their own opinions which I respect. But those are my opinions.

So where IS that elusive man with the soldiering iron??

Hey guys, it's just a hobby. Let's enjoy our systems and be grateful that we can.

Happy New Year.

Bruce

As has been pointed out, fuse protection isn't synonymous with sound degradation (this is a faulty premise).

I guess ARC and Ken Stevens @CAT didn't get the memo.

It's obvious ARC and Convergent don't want fuses in their design for whatever reason. If you don't like their approach or sound, buy something else. What's the big deal?

ARC and CAT have been in business for a long time, well respected and with a large loyal customer base. So either reliability is an overblown issue or sound quality trumps everything.

Knghifi,
You missed the point entirely it seems. ARC and CAT aren't the only ones
who have experienced and talented designers/engineers, in my example I
referenced earlier, my friend went from ARC to VAC. He strongly preferred
the VAC and I agreed with him, simply a matter of taste, I also have owned
ARC and it's a good product but IMO there's better available and I voted
with my wallet and moved on.

I have nothing at all against ARC components and they have certainly
withstood the test of time (as have VAC and other quality products).I dont
believe that ARC amps are unreliable, but their resistor replacement is in my
view a needless hassle.
My point in this interesting thread is I don't think that 'fuses degrade sound
quality across the board' is correct (some designs may and others don't,
it's implementation). My evidence is hearing very good tube
amplifiers(VAC is just one example) that IMO equal or better the ARC
sound. If you disagree that's fine and understandable, just a different point
of view.
Charles,

What bugs me about this thread is all the armchair quarterbacking about circuit design by non-engineers. These designs are all different. BAT does not design like ARC. Any electrical engineers with expertise on tube circuitry weighed in on these issues? I mean, are we really supposed to agree that since one person did not hear degradation with a change to BAT amps that ARC should fuse theirs?
This is all just a bit ridiculous. The only thing these designs have in common is they use tubes.
Charles1dad, we get your point. We don't agree. Saying it again won't change that. You should steer clear of ARC amps, definitely.
I am going over to the Porsche forum now and tell them they have to design their cars for better gas mileage. I will tell them that my Fusion gets better mileage and they need to do whatever Ford does.
That was an analogy, I kid!

Reading that back, it sounds a bit harsh. Sorry.
This is supposed to be fun.