ARC vs LFD

I'm not familiar with LFD but can respond to ARC. This gear has a signature sound that you know when you're listening to ARC gear. Paired with Harbeth makes for a sweet sound. To make a drastic change and go to a fairly new manufacturer, I would at the very least have to hear LFD gear with the same Harbeth speakers before selling out my ARC gear.
Also keep in mind ARC has been around a long time and provides some of the best customer service support out there.
How many tubes are you replacing per amount of hours of use? Amp pre-amp or both

Ed

The pre-amp tubes last 4000 hours and they only cost 120.00 so that is not a problem. The amp tubes are replaced every 2000 hours at a cost of 500.00. It would be nice to get away from this constant maintenance. I just don't know If I would be happy with this 60 watt Intergrated. And since there are only 2 dealers that I know in the country that carry it I doubt I could get a home trial. I hear these Intergrateds sell as fast as they come Into the country.

I think your wish* is almost universal. (* Having SS stuff that sounds as 'good' as tubes and doesn't require maintenance.) But if you've become fully appreciative of the value of tube sound you may never acclimate to SS and regret your decision to move back to SS. And, if Murphy's law is still in force you will discover that SS requires maintenance, and you will want to change the tone, etc slightly and not be able to make the adjustment.

I don't know what your ARC system is but if you are using seperates you might consider scaling back on the amp by buying tubes and biasing them in your self (it sounds like you are having the work done by ARC. Ditto on the pre amp. An amp with a quad of power tubes only costs $150 to $200 when you do it yourself.There is a small learning curve attached, but its fairly shallow.

Would contact Gene Rubin at Gene Rubin Audio. He is a dealer for both Harbeth and LFD.

Have you considered using one of ARC's solid state amps with your ARC tube preamp? I ran an SP16 into both a 100.2 and later a 150.2 driving a pair of Harbeth Compact 7's with good results. The 100.2 sounded better but used more energy and gave off more heat. I moved on from Harbeth a few years ago and am now running an LS26 into an SD135 driving a pair of Daedalus DA-1.1's. The SD135 is a phenomenal solid state amp, providing much of what is great about tubes but without the ongoing operating costs. It also runs cool and has all the dynamics, power and drive that you could want. Perhaps something to consider?

I second going to a solid state amp and keeping the tube pre, if you are sick of replacing output tubes. even the older audio research solid state amps are very good. good luck, chris.

taters, you're in reverse here...arc is arc

Hi Taters

I don't know which model tube amp you have but your numbers seem accurate for big tube amps. I have a pair of Mcintosh tube mono-blocks that burn tubes at the same rate as your ARC's I will live with it so not to compromise the wonderful sound these very rare amps give me. Remember its about the sound and if you're happy with your ARC set up then that will justify the tube maintenance.

I don't own ARC gear but I have listened to quite a bit and attest that this is some of the best of the best and I would be hard pressed to go to a new manufacturer that cant keep their product in stock. That may not necessarily be a good thing for a fairly new audio company trying to establish their presence in the US

Ed

Venice Audio also carries Harbeth and LDF.

LFD !!

tators..not trying to discourage you from harbeth or lfd 'if it is indeed' the next leap of faith, but it really is a bit like spending 10k to visit the neighborhood you already live in comfortably. the gon is here to sell stuff 'thats here'...if this itch must be scratched, expand your serch beyond the usual glee club equipment...get out there and look around.