Ok, funny. I read the post and guessed it was an ARC REF. Then noticed your UserID… OK, I was right. Fortunately ARC does burn in the tubes, so you don’t have to listen to the first ten hours to new tubes… they are not good hours.
Time/Process of Hooking up New Equipment
Does anyone else ever felt this way? My new amp arrived with cables and I want to wait until the weekend to hook it up. I don't want to rush through it after work when it is dark and I am tired - almost rushing to get through it. I want to make it a longer event and have time to listen to my existing system, then do the work to hook it up (a bit of a pain) and then rest and have time to listen to the new amp. Maybe stretch out the fun and be fresh on a Saturday morning. What is everyone's timing / process for installing new gear and the before and after listening?
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I’m an upgrader. I love the magic of listening to music but I’m thrilled by the possibility of the next amazing upgrade in SQ. Getting a new component comes after lots of research. So, it’s like Christmas morning and I don’t want the anticipation of wonderment to end. So, yes I stretch out connecting new equipment and enjoy the tease of making myself wait. But not for too long. And then Christmas is over and I play with my new toy happy or disappointed and lament that Christmas is again 364 days away. (Not that I can ever wait that long to create another Christmas morning.) |
It’s the ARC Ref 80S! The most difficult was removing it from the box. Then hooking it up and getting it in the rack space. But that space is near the floor. So it was easy. But it was absolutely HORRIBLE for the first hour. It’s been about 2 1/2 hours now and just starting to open up. And I am starting to hear what I heard at your place. A purity of tone. Space between the instruments. Organic. And the differences between loud and soft is pronounced and terrific. A whole different world from my previous amps. The wife is rejecting it, mostly, because of the new amount of information. And a lesson for everyone hooking up a new tube amp is that the break in is vital to hearing what the amp is capable. Playing it loud must, surely, get better with the break in.
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Yes, no mater how many times I relearn that you must let a component break in… I sometimes have to learn again. But it is hard to wait a couple hundred hours. Your wife is hearing high frequency hash that you cannot hear. As the amp calms down that will go away… try to keep her away for at least the first 150 hours. |
@ghdprentice , like send her off to the in-laws (if still available) or off with girlfriends on a cruise? It works, but...the results vary, as will yours. *L* Mine hasn't come home with a shirt labeled "My Favorite Mistake!" yet, but I generally get Something....that can be worn in public..... ;) *damn* *L* At this stage of my game, any adds or subtracts require a weekend and a schematic of what and where to. Unlacing takes a few hours, and that's with wire cutters; I like my backsides' as neat as the front as possible. The only noise I tolerate is the cooling fans, and they're noted to upgrade. I try to achieve as black an enviroment as can be done practically. -20ish is easy.... My 'rack' (there's one within it, too) has to be moved by 2...empty, major mods only. Any adds or deletes have been considered and plotted upon. I require a weekend, pref. a 3 day version. Burn-in? 24/7, no problem, just the volume. We don't sleep near it. Plenty of time when all is said 'n done to enjoy...or begin to doubt... ;) |
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