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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
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,610 posts
 
Jwm,.......the Ref3 is not leaner. Guidocorona's explanation says it all.

The Ref2 Mk2 is a great preamp by any standard, and the Ref3 totally eclipsed it.
hansk46's avatar
hansk46
122 posts
 
Hello ARCL60 , I 'm also a proud owner of the REF3 , I left the 6550C original supplied , but replaced the normal tubes by the DR version . I liked this roll out . The tubes were bought at the Tubestore , fast delivery , had no problem .Do you do the upgrade of the 4 bypasscaps your self ? In the Netherlands the importer refuses to do the upgrade for me , so I like to do it myself , but dont know
the value of the caps , and the place in the machine .Perhaps you have the schematics ?
Greetings Hans
arcl60 OP
24 posts
 
Hi Hans,
Guido told me that the 4 bypass caps parts is around $80 at Audio Research. I will order the kit from Audio Research and ask for the schematic also. I know a technician who is able to do it in France, i will not do myself. Do you know why the Netherlands importer doesn't want to do it ? That's strange the France importer should be able to do it i guess, but i prefer to work with my Audio Research Authorized technician who is closer to me. I ordered a set of tubes from TheTubeStore, and i will order the kit of bypass caps when i will travel to the US, so i will have the caps installed with 6550c tube a little bit later.
I will let you know for the bypass upgrade
Laurent
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Hans, the bypass caps installation is apparently a simple matter that can be done by any technician. ARC supplies instructions/schematics with the caps. Best to contact ARC directly and speak to Leonard. Guido
jwm
918 posts
 
Mithc Guidocorona compared the Ref 3 to the Ls25mark 2, not the Ref 2 Mark 2. The Ref 2 mark 2 is a much better sounding preamp than the LS 22.
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