Reference Anniversary and sigh of tube failure at 1100 hours

[TOGA]

Now with 1170 on the hour counter. when cold my REF Anni
send of burst of pop noise to the right channel. Pretty sure it is
from the pre amp as I cross connected pre amp output then the noise move to left channel. When it is warmed for about 5-10 minutes this noise disappeared. Now checking my CD player to make sure it doesn't come from the CD player. But I suspect it to be from REF ANNI. I guess the poor electricity in my country make the tube life shorter than expected. Can I put KT88 as
a replacement ? Do I have to bias new tubes like we do in the tube power amp ?

[cmalak]

TOGA...you do not have to bias the failed tube in a preamp. it's a simple replacement. If I remember correctly you are still using the Sim W-7M power amplifier before your Ref 150 arrives, so it will either be in your preamp or in your CD player (which I believe is the Ref CD-8). So switch the interconnects in your CD player and if the glitch does not move from one channel to the next then yes it is in your preamp. You can also take the tops of both the CD and both chassis' on the Ref Anniv and visually inspect the tubes and the circuit board. A blown tube will glow a lot less brighter or not at all so you could potentially identify visually the bad tube. Also call your dealer for support they should be able to diagnose the problem for you and help you replace the failed tube.

Do you have a power conditioner of any kind for your equipment? If no, I would consider getting one to provide a proper electrical foundation for your system. Good luck.

[TOGA]

Cmalak, Yep, it is from the preamp. My CD is Esoteric P03/D03, I sold ARC CD7 2 years ago.
With pre amp tube gone in 1100 hours, I am reconsidering about ARC REF250, I better replace Moon W7M with some other solid state. LAMM M1.2 Reference and Dan's Momentum
are in my sight I use Transparent PIR as power conditioner and surge protection. But it doesn't regulate sag/brown out. I heard tube will prematurely failed if wall voltage is not constant. But a failure at 1200 hours is pretty disappointing.

[TOGA]

hmm.. the pop comes once in a while. even with no source playing, it still pop.
All tubes are still grow well. How do I know it's one of the two 6550c that failed, or
one of ten 6H30 that fail...? I guess it to be 6550c because it is claimed to last only 2000 hours. At the point of complete failure, will it send the harmful signal to destroy my speakers ?

[cmalak]

TOGA...I would have your local dealer try to diagnose the issue with Audio Research or you can call Audio Research directly. Better get professional support. It most certainly comes with all Audio Research products and certainly with the Ref Anniversary preamp. Blown tubes are rare in preamps but they are a fact of life of any tube equipment. It's too bad it happened to you. Good luck.

PS: I don't think the popping noise should damage your speaker unless you have the volume set way high. I would not however use your Ref Anniv preamp until the issue is diagnosed and fixed to prevent any further problems developing. That would be my advice. Good luck.

[TOGA]

thanks, I turned it off and use Marantz AVP-8003 pre/pro as pre amp instead.
in user manual of Ref Anni stated that 6550C in power supply chassis has 2000 hours life
expectancy. the rest of 6H30 last 4000. So at 1100 hours, it is quite likely to be from
6550c in power supply chassis. I already informed dealer. but today is his day off.

[cmalak]

TOGA...I understand the life expectancy issue and why you think it might be one of the 6550s but better to properly diagnose and make sure you are replacing the right tube. Good luck.

[TOGA]

you're right, I should not pin point to 6550c without have it checked by professional first.
will keep you informed the result. Thanks

[avsBuddy]

Sorry to hear about your AR Anniversary.
It's off the wall, but how does it compares to your Marantz AV8003 with the later run in a Pure Direct Mode? I love my AV8003 even as a pure analogue preamp and always was wondering what I would gain if go with dedicated tube preamp such as AR. Of course your unit is top of the line, so would be nice to know how Marantz pre/pro compares to a benchmark.

[enatai252]

Toga

I had a similiar issue within the first 20 hours of time with my Ref 150. I would get a loud pop from the right speaker during the initial warmup of the amp. I worked with ARC and my dealer to solve the problem. First I swapped the 2 right channel 6h30 input tubes with the 2 for the left channel. The pop moved from the right speaker to the left...so we knew it was the input tubes. ARC overnighted a new set....I put the 2 left ones back in there place...installed the 2 new ones in the right...and my dealer came back to re-bais the output tubes in the right channel since the input tubes were new. Back in business within 36 hours...and over 150 hours on them since then with no issues. Bottom line is that sometimes you get this when tubes are involved....good news is that it is not that difficult to fix...and I imagine ARC will cover under warranty. Good Luck