Audio Research Classic 120
Derrek Yorga
Can some one please give me their opinions on this amp. I am
considering trying to find a good used one if I can find it. I will be
driving a set of B+W 802 series 3 with them. I am very fond of the
sound of tubes and currently own a GTA SE 40 but I find it lacking for
ultimate fullfillment with more demanding types of music. How will the
120 compare in sound to the SE 40 and will it match well with the
802's. I will audition of course but I would like some opinions first
to see if I should even bother trying to find a used pair. I have
listened to Audio research tube gear on other equipment but never had
the chance to listen through B+W speakers before so I am familiar with
their general sound.
Is the amp reliable?
What does tube replacement cost , etc.
Derrek
Steve Hull
Derrek Yorga <yorga....@ic.gc.ca> wrote:
>Can some one please give me their opinions on this amp. I am
>considering trying to find a good used one if I can find it.
<..clip..>
>Is the amp reliable?
<..clip..>
>What does tube replacement cost , etc.
<..clip..>
I don't know if you knew, but at the end of the 120's life cycle, ARC
came out with a revised version, dubbed the V-140. There were two
differences: the V-140 ONLY has balanced input jacks (i.e. no RCAs),
and they added a "soft turn-on" circuit to prolong tube life. I have
a pair; they're fabulous.
I bought my pair used, and was paranoid because this was my first pair
of tube amps. So I immediately began to imagine that the tubes needed
replacing. I ended up retubing them, but must say in retrospect that
it was unnecessary since I really couldn't tell any difference with
the new tubes. My amps were two years old when I bought them, so if
the original tubes were that close in sound to the new tubes, I'd have
to say that either the original owner didn't use the amps very much or
the "soft turn-on circuit" must really be kind on tubes. (Actually, I
talked to one of the engineers at ARC, who told me that in their
testing, they had gone 4 years on a set of tubes in a pair of V-140s,
and they were still going strong when they stopped the test.)
I bought matched octects of Sovtek 6550's from ARC, and think I ended
up paying about $900 to totally retube both amps. That was for 16
output tubes and 4 drivers. Since then, I have seen a MAJOR price
reduction for 6550s (at least in the Audio Advisor's catalog), so I
don't know what you'd have to pay to retube them. Also, if I was more
comfortable dealing with other tube vendors, I could have saved quite
a bit by buying from somebody else.
I'm kinda vague on this, but I think the Classic 120, because it uses
non-balanced inputs, has a phase-splitting stage that _may_ use
another tube. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can shed some light
on this.
Sorry, but I haven't had the chance to audition the SE-40, so I can't
really help you as far as how the two compare. I have Watt/Puppies,
which are pretty efficient, and the V-140s have more than enough oomph
to drive them to outrageous levels. In fact, I've never heard the
amps clip: my ears give up before the amps do.
Hope this helps.
- Steve
Bob Trosper
Steve Hull wrote:
> I don't know if you knew, but at the end of the 120's life cycle, ARC
> came out with a revised version, dubbed the V-140. There were two
> differences: the V-140 ONLY has balanced input jacks (i.e. no RCAs),
> and they added a "soft turn-on" circuit to prolong tube life. I have
> a pair; they're fabulous
Not to dispute the fabulosity of the amps, but didn't they also change
to pentode mode on these amps? How many 6550's per channel (or for the
whole amp, whatever) do the V-140's use?
-- Bob Trosper
rp...@netonecom.net
On 10/4/96 7:10PM, in message <534ao7$5...@agate.berkeley.edu>, Bob Trosper
<rtro...@hpsrjtc.sr.hp.com> wrote:
> Steve Hull wrote:
Classic and "V" series use triode operation. The monoblock
V-140 uses 4 - matched pair KT90 - Power Output; 2 - 6FQ7/6CG7 -
Drivers.
As shipped new from ARC. Other power tubes used are 6550, 6550A, KT88
ro KT100.
Have a V-70 amp, Steve is right "they're fabulous"
Rich
Steve Hull
Bob Trosper <rtro...@hpsrjtc.sr.hp.com> wrote:
>Steve Hull wrote:
>> I don't know if you knew, but at the end of the 120's life cycle, ARC
>> came out with a revised version, dubbed the V-140. There were two
>> differences: the V-140 ONLY has balanced input jacks (i.e. no RCAs),
>> and they added a "soft turn-on" circuit to prolong tube life. I have
>> a pair; they're fabulous
>Not to dispute the fabulosity of the amps, but didn't they also change
>to pentode mode on these amps? How many 6550's per channel (or for the
>whole amp, whatever) do the V-140's use?
Bob,
Like you, I was initially confused by the similarity of ARCs naming
convention. The V-series superceded the Classic series but continued
using the same basic circuit design (i.e. triode). The VT-series
switched to a pentode design, which cut the number of tubes required
per channel in half while still maintaining approximately the same
power output (with a corresponding degradation of the sound quality
IMO).
Don't know if you still have access to my original post, but I said,
"I bought matched octects of Sovtek 6550's from ARC, and think I ended
up paying about $900 to totally retube both amps. That was for 16
output tubes and 4 drivers." I guess I should have been a little more
specific: each amp takes 8 output tubes and 2 drivers. For the
mathematically challenged, that also works out to $450 per amp.
- Steve