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Audio Research REF 3

Dear all ARC REF 3 owners,
I just bought an REF 3 preamp which has replaced my LS25MKII preamp. To be honest i'm little disappointed by the result so far, but i guess tubes have to be replaced. My concern is especially on the sound image which is not precise as my LS25MKII image was.
The number of hours of used displayed by the my REF 3 is 1670 but i realized that hours counter increased only for full hours of used, so i can estimate the number of hours of the tubes inside my REF 3 to be the double i guess.
My question is the following
What do you recommend for tubes replacement and source for the replacement of REF 3 tubes.
I used sovtek, EH gold, and 6H30-DR on my LS25MKII and i was pleased with all those tubes even if i didn't find the DR much better than the 2 other brands.
Thanks in advance
ARCL60
arcl60
markwatkiss
508 posts
 
The tubes should be fine for at least 4000 hours.Did you buy used,previous owner may have reset the counter to "0"Check with Audio Research technical support.
talon4
185 posts
 
It's probably your power tube. The stock 6550 power tube is run fairly hot and runs out of steam at about 1100 hours--clarity and dynamics diminish. You need a matched replacement 6550 tube from Audio Research. They will want the number written on your 6550 power tube and the cost is about $85. Your small signal tubes have a longer life span, so I doubt that the problem lies with them. I owned a Ref3 for about 8 months and replaced the 6550 tube twice, before selling the unit. It should sound much better than the LS25MKII. The problem of "running out of steam" isn't something that is well known, but if you do an Audiogon search, you'll see it talked about. Good luck. Best regards, Stan
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
I agree with Talon, my dad owns the Ref3 and while there has been alot said about it your experience isnt the norm, Seeing how you bought it used the only hour count you can trust is your own, invest in new tubes and reset number, maybe note the old count for a total hours of use record.
My sather had some noise on his and as he bought a dealer demo (saved over 3K) AR sent new tubes for free.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
I have owned a Ref 3 for a couple of years. The lifespan estimates made by ARC for all tubes as applied in this device are extremely optimistic. The 6550C shows some sag at 900 hrs and usually needs to be replaced by 1100. In my unit the driver tubes had lost their bounce by 1700 hrs. I have tried a couple of different tube variants, but prefer the transparency/clarity/linearity/detail of 6550C and 6H30s supplied by ARC. You will find a good discussion on 6550C alternatives here:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1201144495&openfrom&1&4#1

Before any serious evaluation of your Ref 3, give it fresh tubes and break them in for 100 hrs or so.

G.
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
I've owned the LS16, LS25, ref 2 and Ref 3...the LS 25 was more musical than any of the other offerings. The 6H50 tube was the last nail in the coffin for ARC...might as well be solid state (not very good SS either). That said, the Ref3 can sound amazing with fresh tubes, a great power cord and musical ancillary equipment.
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