AudioAficionado.org  

Go Back   AudioAficionado.org > Manufacturers Forums > Audio Research

Audio Research State of the Art Audio Reproduction

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11  
Old 05-15-2017, 09:21 PM
birdland birdland is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Bay Area, Northern California
Posts: 83
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by enatai252 View Post
...

If it makes you feel better I have a ref150 with the big Teflon caps and it's still running great about six years
Regarding the large Teflon caps, please note that when Audio Research responded, they did mention the following which sounds like a note to themselves than to me.

"Photo shows he has the older Teflon coupling caps that are replaced under the ECN. Suggest factory service, if possible, so we can replace these failure-prone caps."

So you may want to take that under advisement.
__________________
Digital W4S DAC-2v2SE, W4S Recovery powered by Uptone Audio LPS-1, OPPO BDP-105; Office: iFi micro iDAC2 Home Office: iFi nano iDSD with iPurifier2
Analog Rega Planar 2 (original) heavily modified; Benz Micro Ace; Aesthetix Rhea phono pre-amp
Pre-amp/amp Audio Research REF 5SE, Audio Research REF 150, Martin Logan SL3s, Shunyata Research power cords throughout
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 05-15-2017, 09:34 PM
jdandy's Avatar
jdandy jdandy is offline
Merry Christmas to all



 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: North Central Florida
Posts: 53,224
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by birdland View Post
Regarding the large Teflon caps, please note that when Audio Research responded, they did mention the following which sounds like a note to themselves than to me.

"Photo shows he has the older Teflon coupling caps that are replaced under the ECN. Suggest factory service, if possible, so we can replace these failure-prone caps."

So you may want to take that under advisement.
Walter.......Well there you go. Pack that REF150 up and ship it back to the factory. It'll come back in better condition than when you got it. Maybe ARC will be able to square up the rear chassis dent while they're at it.
__________________
Dan



STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario
LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113
VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 05-15-2017, 09:37 PM
Sharp 1080's Avatar
Sharp 1080 Sharp 1080 is offline
Lifetime audio addict!
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 525
Default

I would personally bypass a technician unless it was Steve Huntley himself and just send the amplifier back to Audio Research and have them repair and bench test it before returning it to you. I am sorry to read of your misfortune with your amp. I have bad memories of Audio Research tube amps when I owned the Classic 120 monoblocks. They sounded so good but constantly blew resistors and fried a tube on one occasion.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 05-15-2017, 09:54 PM
birdland birdland is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Bay Area, Northern California
Posts: 83
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jdandy View Post
Walter.......Well there you go. Pack that REF150 up and ship it back to the factory. It'll come back in better condition than when you got it. Maybe ARC will be able to square up the rear chassis dent while they're at it.
Dan - I have always used my local technician to repair my ARC amps. This way I didn't have to ship the amp and expose it to possible shipping damage.

However, there are a number of things wrong here and it would be a good idea to have the amp checked out by Audio Research. So I was leaning towards sending this amp back to Audio Research. I just have to discuss this with them so they know exactly what I want done and if they can fix the dented rear of the chassis - how much it would cost. I have the feeling they may have to transfer the guts of the amp to a new chassis. If this is the case, I might not have them do this. Of course, if I ever want to sell this amp, it would make it easier to sell if the right binding posts weren't coming out of the rear at a slightly odd angle.
__________________
Digital W4S DAC-2v2SE, W4S Recovery powered by Uptone Audio LPS-1, OPPO BDP-105; Office: iFi micro iDAC2 Home Office: iFi nano iDSD with iPurifier2
Analog Rega Planar 2 (original) heavily modified; Benz Micro Ace; Aesthetix Rhea phono pre-amp
Pre-amp/amp Audio Research REF 5SE, Audio Research REF 150, Martin Logan SL3s, Shunyata Research power cords throughout
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 05-15-2017, 10:20 PM
enatai252 enatai252 is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Bellevue WA
Posts: 574
Default REF150 amp just blew two small resistors

Quote:
Originally Posted by birdland View Post
Regarding the large Teflon caps, please note that when Audio Research responded, they did mention the following which sounds like a note to themselves than to me.



"Photo shows he has the older Teflon coupling caps that are replaced under the ECN. Suggest factory service, if possible, so we can replace these failure-prone caps."



So you may want to take that under advisement.


Hah. I do appreciate the info. I had some early issues with my Ref 250's but this particular Ref 150 has continued to perform without issue and as I mentioned it's six years old. I believe some of the magic comes from the Teflon caps so for now I am going to just "let it ride"

I do wish you the best with getting your amp all corrected. I do find it to be a very good amp...hope you can enjoy it soon

Last edited by enatai252; 05-27-2017 at 11:39 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old 05-27-2017, 08:20 PM
birdland birdland is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Bay Area, Northern California
Posts: 83
Default

Progress so far in case anyone is interested.

ARC said that there was nothing they could do with the bent chasis/binding posts. Hence, I elected not to ship the amp. I[ve had shipping related issues with a used REF 5SE preamp I purchased recently so I am hesitant to ship the amp.

I just brought it into my local ARC authorized technician today. He verified the issues with the resistors. He was concerned that the resistor associated with the power tube did not blow completely but instead registers in the 300 ohm range. They are wire-wound resistors and blow when a power tube arcs. The teflon capacitor associated with the power tubes which blew the resistor seemed to measure properly.

We are definitely going to replace all of the tubes as they showed signs of age including the 6H30s. Also, I have no confidence in the tube counter based on other issues with the seller.

My tech is going to run the amp for awhile and monitor the voltage leakage, if any, across the teflon caps to see if they are suspect. If he doesn't like what he sees, he will order replacements when he orders the new tubes on Tuesday. I really hope the teflon caps are ok because I've heard that the replacement capacitors do not sound as warm. The amp isn't warm sounding as it is. Why would I want a leaner REF150?
__________________
Digital W4S DAC-2v2SE, W4S Recovery powered by Uptone Audio LPS-1, OPPO BDP-105; Office: iFi micro iDAC2 Home Office: iFi nano iDSD with iPurifier2
Analog Rega Planar 2 (original) heavily modified; Benz Micro Ace; Aesthetix Rhea phono pre-amp
Pre-amp/amp Audio Research REF 5SE, Audio Research REF 150, Martin Logan SL3s, Shunyata Research power cords throughout

Last edited by birdland; 05-28-2017 at 01:41 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 07-05-2017, 09:32 PM
birdland birdland is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Bay Area, Northern California
Posts: 83
Default

Last update.

I've had the repaired REF150 back for a bit. All tubes replaced by ARC supplied tubes along with the various parts (also from ARC) which had to be replaced. My technician checked the teflon caps after running the amp with newly installed and biased tubes and the caps seem fine.

The tubes are still settling in and have about 14 hours on them. I am still tweaking the bias. I'm a little concerned because one of the slave tubes is measuring 60 mV instead 65. I may swap it for the other slave which is measuring 67 mV.

I have no idea who many hours were really on the original tubes but the amp sounds much better than it did before it blew the resistors.
__________________
Digital W4S DAC-2v2SE, W4S Recovery powered by Uptone Audio LPS-1, OPPO BDP-105; Office: iFi micro iDAC2 Home Office: iFi nano iDSD with iPurifier2
Analog Rega Planar 2 (original) heavily modified; Benz Micro Ace; Aesthetix Rhea phono pre-amp
Pre-amp/amp Audio Research REF 5SE, Audio Research REF 150, Martin Logan SL3s, Shunyata Research power cords throughout
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Audioaficionado.org tested by Norton Internet Security

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:38 AM.



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.10
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
©Copyright 2009-2023 AudioAficionado.org.Privately owned, All Rights Reserved.
Audio Aficionado Sponsors
AudioAficionado Subscriber
AudioAficionado Subscriber
Inspire By Dennis Had
Inspire By Dennis Had
Harmonic Resolution Systems
Harmonic Resolution Systems
Wyred4Sound
Wyred4Sound
Dragonfire Acoustics
Dragonfire Acoustics
GIK Acoustics
GIK Acoustics
Esoteric
Esoteric
AC Infinity
AC Infinity
JL Audio
JL Audio
Add Powr
Add Powr
Accuphase - Soulution
Accuphase - Soulution
Audio by E
Audio by E
Canton
Canton
Bryston
Bryston
WireWorld Cables
WireWorld Cables
Stillpoints
Stillpoints
Bricasti Design
Bricasti Design
Furutech
Furutech
Shunyata Research
Shunyata Research
Legend Audio & Video
Legend Audio & Video