Audio Research I/50

I just ordered one for a second system and look forward to providing more clarity on the biasing issue from my AR dealer.

I agree that brands like Linear Tube Audio that provide complete audio bias around this price point would generally be more agreeable to the younger listeners their branding cultivates. Even my truly high-end SA Lab integrated auto-biases its 6550 tubes, and that is meant for experienced listeners. This said, I always liked manually biasing my Octave Audio (great bias readout) and Rogue (less so) tube amps, which should be telling of how others will experience this, as I am under 40 and lack comprehensive experience with the servicing of mechanical gear relative to other fields (i.e., automobile / home repair).

In addition to assessing ease of use and seeing if I can access a service manual, I will report on how the I/50 performs in my second system, using Graham Chartwell LS6 speakers that seem to strike an appropriate price and specification balance with this unit.

@stone1 Thanks for asking. I mentioned age as I second @chris_launder ’s observation that the multiple colors offered and relatively low pricing for an AR unit is meant to attract new and younger listeners to the brand. I bring this up specifically because I too wonder whether they expected the tube bias issue is something with which they either didn’t want to task young listeners (with no tube experience) and/or assumed even the mention of it would confuse or put them off.

I don’t see why they didn’t just apply auto-bias as a unit that people will assume needs a service tech and is a danger/pain to bias is probably even more off-putting than just saying, "hey, this unit does it for you with cathode bias." Even if hardly adjustable fixed bias sounds better, a lot of young listeners will still think the AR unit sounds appreicably better than most solid state to the degree that it’s worth checking out this old-timey exoticism. The VT80SE (with auto bias) sure does speak for itself.

We’ll see.