A very interesting post. When I got my Ref 75SE, I was instructed to always wait 5 minutes before switching on again and that has become a habit on the odd occasion where I need to do that. FWIW, I messaged a well known ARC dealer on another forum, and he is of the view that in terms of sound quality, there's not much in it for the Ref 75SE vs Ref80S. I'll be interested to hear how you find the Ref 80S.I am moving "down" from a Ref 150SE to a Ref 80S. My new amp should be in soon but I will need some time for it to burn in (by all accounts a minimum of 400 hours). My pre is a Ref 6. My dealer who has sold ARC for many years tells me he preferred the 75SE to the 150SE but that the 80S, 160S and 160M are in an entirely different league. But we would expect him to say that. I am the original buyer/owner of both the Ref 6 and 150SE and what primarily prompted me to buy the 80S is that my main fuse on the right circuit board in my 150SE blew and caused some minor damage to the circuit board. I sent a photo of the damage to ARC's service dept and they told me it was very strange/unusual. But the kicker is this-ARC will not even send me an RMA to return my amp for repairs for 4-5 months as they are that backlogged doing repairs!
I have owned ARC amps for 20+ years and this new series is their first to fuse the output tubes rather than pair them with a resistor meant to blow and then be replaced when the output tube fails. That plus the autobias, the triode/pentode switch, the two minute auto delay when turning back on after recently shutting down (a major faux pas leading to catastrophic failure on the 150SE-you must remember to wait five minutes if shut down and then turn back on), and the sexy looks all lead me to this in addition to needing something to replace my 150SE while I wait for repairs.
So your "well known dealer on another forum" has spoken. That settles that. And I love your choice of words, "there's not much in it". Not much in it for whom? In short, your post smacks of someone with a Ref 75 SE who wants to piss all over the prospect that there might be something better.A very interesting post. When I got my Ref 75SE, I was instructed to always wait 5 minutes before switching on again and that has become a habit on the odd occasion where I need to do that. FWIW, I messaged a well known ARC dealer on another forum, and he is of the view that in terms of sound quality, there's not much in it for the Ref 75SE vs Ref80S. I'll be interested to hear how you find the Ref 80S.
A good call imho Ken.think the better bang for the buck (if I can even use this phrase here), would be the Ref 6 preamp over the 5SE that I own.
No, it was not meant that way at all. I have obviously caused offence and for that I apologise. I use this forum as a way of gaining knowledge and hunting for the most cost effective moves forward. My intention was to contribute, not to piss on anything. Apologies and good luck.So your "well known dealer on another forum" has spoken. That settles that. And I love your choice of words, "there's not much in it". Not much in it for whom? In short, your post smacks of someone with a Ref 75 SE who wants to piss all over the prospect that there might be something better.
I am moving "down" from a Ref 150SE to a Ref 80S. My new amp should be in soon but I will need some time for it to burn in (by all accounts a minimum of 400 hours). My pre is a Ref 6. My dealer who has sold ARC for many years tells me he preferred the 75SE to the 150SE but that the 80S, 160S and 160M are in an entirely different league. But we would expect him to say that. I am the original buyer/owner of both the Ref 6 and 150SE and what primarily prompted me to buy the 80S is that my main fuse on the right circuit board in my 150SE blew and caused some minor damage to the circuit board. I sent a photo of the damage to ARC's service dept and they told me it was very strange/unusual. But the kicker is this-ARC will not even send me an RMA to return my amp for repairs for 4-5 months as they are that backlogged doing repairs!
I have owned ARC amps for 20+ years and this new series is their first to fuse the output tubes rather than pair them with a resistor meant to blow and then be replaced when the output tube fails. That plus the autobias, the triode/pentode switch, the two minute auto delay when turning back on after recently shutting down (a major faux pas leading to catastrophic failure on the 150SE-you must remember to wait five minutes if shut down and then turn back on), and the sexy looks all lead me to this in addition to needing something to replace my 150SE while I wait for repairs.
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