2. amps-preamps
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Audio Research Ref 110 break in period

Fellow owners with first hand knowledge, please let me know what your experience was with the break in period. I understand ARC says it can last 600 hours, but I think that more applies to the brand new stuff with Teflon caps (Anniversary Preamp and Ref 5) though I could be wrong... What stages did you hear and at what points? I am very pleased with mine so far and it only has 60 hours under its belt so far. Curious as to what else I can expect from it.
bavarian05
spinaker01
491 posts
 
Where did you find a REF110 with no hours on it? Do you mean the tubes?
bavarian05 OP
65 posts
 
Both. Brand new unit from ARC with KT120's. Ordered it and within 4 business days it was built and delivered. My dealer approached me with it while auditioning a ARC VS115 and a Mac MC275. According to my dealer it was one of the last few they were building and if I was ready to do it immediately (which I was thankfully) I was able to spec the color I wanted as well. (Black) I feel very fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time.
spinaker01
491 posts
 
Indeed! The REF110 is on my upgrade path when I scratch up the cash and sell my VT100 mkii. Enjoy!
bavarian05 OP
65 posts
 
Anyone with first hand experience out there?
Would love to hear what stages or changes I can expect from this amplifier once through the intial break as opposed to right out of the box.
ff116
20 posts
 
I found the break-in period to be fairly uneventful, meaning no wild fluctuations. At the outset the amp was congested, and frequency extremes were a bit limited. The high end extension came in at 300 hours, and the bass began to settle at 400 hours. Beyond 400 hours you will start to get a refinement of sound with the midrange filling in rather nicely. Keep an eye on bias adjustment at 600 hours.

To be honest, I was a little worried in the early listening stage, put patience was rewarded, it is a great amp, especially with the kt 120's.s
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