2. amps-preamps
  3. 1187779737

Unhappy with tubes so which transistor amp?

Hi guys,

About 6 months back I bought an ARC Ref110. For one reason or another I am still running on the demo unit which has failed 2 times during this time. The first time it was one of the output tubes which was blown. This time it simply won't power up. I have checked the fuse and it looks ok but the amp shows no sign of life.

Based on my experience so far I am thinking that I will sell my unit brand new when I get it next week. I don't want to deal with a piece which breaks down often as for me reliability is one of the key criteria as I am totally zero on the technical side of electronics (changing the fuse may be as technical as it gets for me). So even stuff like biasing, changing tubes after x amount of hours looks like a lot of work to me.

Now after this background I come to the million dollar question. Since replacing the amp with my old Aragons I have noticed that I have lost significantly in 3 areas.

1) Soundstage does not seem to be as big as with the Ref110 specially in regard to sound coming from outside the speaker thing, which btw is gives you an awesome feeling if you are listening with the lights switched off

2) I have lost the mid range magic. This is painfully apparent in vocals as they have lost their sense of realism.

3) Digital glare and harshness has also crept back in the system.

Now I am looking for an amp that is SS but can give me back what I have lost although I am not sure about number 2 as everyone says you can't do it with SS. Basically I am looking for an SS amp with huge soundstage, beautiful and natural (not "smooth" as in muffled) midrange and san any digital glare. Price should be ~10K new or used.

The related equipment is ARC CD3 MKII, ARC LS26 and Peak Consult Empress loud speakers.

Any help or ideas is welcome.

Thanks

P.S. I posted the same on speaker forum by mistake. Mods please feel free to delete the other thread. Thanks
rayden1972
9rw's avatar
9rw
318 posts
 
If a tube took out a resistor, that's not the amp's fault. Stuff like that happens. Also, ARC will take care of you, assuming you bought the amp from an authorized dealer.

You'll be hard-pressed to find a better-sounding amp for anywhere near the price, and there aren't many companies that are better than ARC where customer service is concerned. Also, checking and adjusting bias is no big deal, and the sound will reward you every time you listen.

I sure wouldn't give up on it yet.
Post removed 
sc53
720 posts
 
Try an Ayre amp if you want magical midrange, authoritative bass, and absolutely no glare or harshness whatsoever. I owned an Ayre V3 (their smallest amp, 100 watts) and now own the ARC VT100 Mk III and love both. Sound is amazingly similar, esp with ARC front end like you have and I also have.
aball
2,018 posts
 
You must try McIntosh MC501 monoblocks at some point. They are the ideal thing for you IMO.

Arthur
phd
1,324 posts
 
I'm not a big fan of tube power amps, much prefer the tubes in the preamp only, the maintenance involved, tube biasing unless its self biasing, the heat generated, tubes are wearing out once it is turn on, much more so with tube amps than tube preamps. When I listen to music I don't want to worry about the gear. It has been mentioned in other threads and worth mentioning again that the ARC 100.2 is a worthy contender since it is known to be one of the best sounding solid state amps ever produced by Audio Research. Partner it with a quality Audio Research tube preamp and you have given up very little.
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