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Taters, +1. Leonard was a wonderful representative for ARC, a true audiophile.

Hifigeek1,

I have a technical question re: Ref 210s. I have 1625 hrs on the tubes. Over the past couple of the months the sound has become quite anemic and univolving. Dynamics, soundstaging, and bass response are sig reduced compared with what they normally are. I suspect it's the tubes in the 210s. Is it normal to need to replace them at 1600 hrs? I don't drive the amps hard at all. I'd like to have some reassurance that this is expected before I think about buying new tubes. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Spoke to Kal last week. Left him a message during the morning and he called me back after business hours. Maybe a little overwhelmed in the new ARC/Wadia and other Fine Sounds issues setting. He now answers phone with a greeting referencing all 3. Call him again and see what happens. The guy is a gem.

Jdoshi..it is possible that your tubes are tired and need to be replaced. I've seen instances where a tube may arc after 1500 hrs. It happens. My suggestion is to replace the tubes. It beats having a tube arc over on you and having to have someone like me replace the resistors and check that all the voltages are okay. If your Ref210's have lost that lovin' feeling, it's time. When the tubes are new I put my tube tester measurement numbers on the tubes. When it comes back in I test them again to see how much the tubes have lost. I don't know if you will also need to replace the front end tubes and drivers. I would consult your owners manual for that info. ARC is mad crazy right now. I just ordered VTM200 tube sets for my customer whose amps I just repaired. I hope they can ship to me tomorrow. Be advised that unless you sent your Ref210's back to ARC for the KT 120 update, you can only use the 6550WE's. They no longer have Winged "C" output tubes as the factory burned down. The 6550WE's are excellent sounding tubes.