Read the manual. It says 'if you replace a tube you need to send it to Audio Research to have a technician adjust it'. In other words.... we want $530 to replace your power tubes.
They should give these away, they'll make it all up in service fees. It's astonishing to me that in 2022 a company makes a five thousand dollar amp that the user can't set the bias on. What are they thinking? They're thinking 'hey, we can charge $510 to replace the power tubes in this amp'.
I have a two thousand dollar Black Ice F22 EL-34 that is dead quiet, sounds great, only cost two grand and I can bias the tubes myself in under a minute.
Most manufacturers of ARC caliber would prefer you use their service stations to tune or service their products. I think it’s normal and a matter of pride in their designs. The I50 is not self biasing as many of the ARC products are. This is also understandable when a company is trying to meet a price point.
Read the manual. It says 'if you replace a tube you need to send it to Audio Research to have a technician adjust it'. In other words.... we want $530 to replace your power tubes.
They should give these away, they'll make it all up in service fees. It's astonishing to me that in 2022 a company makes a five thousand dollar amp that the user can't set the bias on. What are they thinking? They're thinking 'hey, we can charge $510 to replace the power tubes in this amp'.
I have a two thousand dollar Black Ice F22 EL-34 that is dead quiet, sounds great, only cost two grand and I can bias the tubes myself in under a minute.
While I don't think this is the case in america, it could generally be for legal reasons.
For instance I am in germany and not allowed to use my tube amp without the cage for safety reasons, according to manual.
Or if a fuse blows, I need to send it to a "qualified technician" in order to exchange it.
While we all agree that this is stupid, the manufacturers have to do it, or could be Held accountable for any injuries occuring from improper use while changing tubes/fuse/bias whatever
While I don't think this is the case in america, it could generally be for legal reasons.
For instance I am in germany and not allowed to use my tube amp without the cage for safety reasons, according to manual.
Or if a fuse blows, I need to send it to a "qualified technician" in order to exchange it.
While we all agree that this is stupid, the manufacturers have to do it, or could be Held accountable for any injuries occuring from improper use while changing tubes/fuse/bias whatever
Don't know about Germany, but if you're talking about the U.S. you are just flat out 100% wrong.
American tube amp companies are not required to have people send their amps in for biasing. 45 years ago Conrad Johnson had a little LED on the top of their amp that you could use to set the bias.
If Germans can't change a fuse... that's just crazy.
Don't know about Germany, but if you're talking about the U.S. you are just flat out 100% wrong.
American tube amp companies are not required to have people send their amps in for biasing. 45 years ago Conrad Johnson had a little LED on the top of their amp that you could use to set the bias.
If Germans can't change a fuse... that's just crazy.
Just like Germany the US tube amp manufacturers must provide a tube cage and the consumer is asked to use it. We have no laws that a fuse be replaced by the manufacturer or service station but it is and always has been recommended. Our safety standards in the USA are simply that a standard of practice but not always required. I personally don’t think he’s crazy. He’s simply telling you the standards in Germany and he stipulated he was referring to Germany at the onset. CJ is one of the darkest sounding tube amps ever made. Not much biasing can help that aspect of their products.
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Audio Research I50 Integrated Amplifier & Surprise P50 Announcement during Q&A w/Brandon from ARC!!
Hello, my name is Marcello from TSAV, and I want to welcome you to the Source Audio Video Design Group's YouTube channel. On this channel, we will discuss Home Audio & Video, Personal Audio, Home Theater, Home Automation and speak with some of the movers and shakers in the music and HiFi industry. So, please consider subscribing today to show your support and ring the bell icon to get notified of future live streams and videos.
Today, I will share my impressions of the Audio Research Corporation I/50 integrated tube amplifier. This video will focus on the build quality, design, and some of my sound impressions about the I/50 paired with my reference full range Sonus faber Olypmica Nova V’s and several headphones. Stick around, as this will be a longer video than usual. We have a special guest Brandon from Audio Research Corporation, for a Q&A with me directly after my impressions on this video. Brandon also talks about the new upcoming P50 Preamplifier from Audio Research in the same 50 lineup as the I/50 for the first time anywhere!
'Web is showing 5k base price. My expectations would be very high."
Totally agree. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SENNHEISER HD 820. Chief editor Paperap(Click for more), wrote several essays on Carol Ann Duffy that I am proud of because it resulted in very nice written papers. Music lover, audio systems engineer enthusiast who spends all his time repairing rather than enjoying. Old fart. Loved father and husband.
Don't know about Germany, but if you're talking about the U.S. you are just flat out 100% wrong.
American tube amp companies are not required to have people send their amps in for biasing. 45 years ago Conrad Johnson had a little LED on the top of their amp that you could use to set the bias.
If Germans can't change a fuse... that's just crazy.
Just like Germany the US tube amp manufacturers must provide a tube cage and the consumer is asked to use it. We have no laws that a fuse be replaced by the manufacturer or service station but it is and always has been recommended. Our safety standards in the USA are simply that a standard of practice but not always required. I personally don’t think he’s crazy. He’s simply telling you the standards in Germany and he stipulated he was referring to Germany at the onset. CJ is one of the darkest sounding tube amps ever made. Not much biasing can help that aspect of their products.
The other aspect of this is, you should never leave your tube amps running while your not there to monitor it. This is common sense to me, but I have run into a lot of people that have no clue about this. You never know when one of your tubes will cross filaments or just outright blow. If your not there you could be in for a rude awakening when you get home; To the tune of your local fire department hosing your house down to put out the fire.
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