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ARC Ref 6 Tube Microphonics

Hi All, I purchased a used Ref 6 preamp a few months ago, initially everything was fine, tube hours indicator said ~950 hours but not sure if that was accurate. After about 50 hours of use, turning the volume past 0 and the mechanical relay kicks in, a chime is heard coming through the speakers. I assumed one or more tubes had become microphonic. I replaced all tubes with new ARC select from Upscale, 7 Sovtek 6H30Pi, 1 Sovtek 6550WE. I let it warm up for a few hours, turned volume past 0 and the same chime is still there. On the positive side, the SQ improvement was immediately noticeable and outstanding, I love the preamp in my setup but the microphonic chime is annoying. ARC service said that some chime is normal but it still bothers me. Any advice? Ignore it? A new set of tubes direct from ARC? New tube rings? Send in to service? Thanks.

agbrace

Showing 1 response by geof3

geof3
1,125 posts
 

I call it the 6H30 Zing… not a worry! Enjoy the music!

Doesn’t the Ref 6 have essentially a built in attenuation? My LS 26 has low, mid, and high gain settings via the remote. I know the Ref 3 and 5 do as well. It also has the ability to choose SE and Bal connections. ARC pre’s are notoriously over driven given the range of “volume” they allow. Some actually send them in and have ARC reduce the gain in the entire pre.

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