Audio Research I/50

@runwell - "And I think it is pretty shorter than normal. But I do not know why."

I believe the higher the bias, the shorter the tube life.

All of my ARC amps had about a two-Year tube life (6550s).

Carver's latest tube amps use a much lower bias and, therefore, have a 5 or 10 year tube-life (depending on model).

Guys, it’s a consumer, not an enthusiast focused product.  This is a gateway drug that they’re selling to people who don’t know or care (me) and I doubt they give a crap what you think about auto bias.  You’re not the target market.  Not delivering what a narrow consumer base wants doesn’t make them stupid- they didn’t count on your business.  At some point I may care, but I’ll trade up when I do. 
 

 

they say about a technician only when changing tubes.
i agree that it strange that they didn’t mentioned anything about the bias adjustment on the manual.
if it’s no auto or user adjustable it is really bad news.

on the other hand i believe that they aren’t so stupid to produce such a thing that most of the people Will be deterred to buy.
it is something to check carefully.

 

Check the manual and get to the installation page.

It said you need get assistance from the dealer or technical guy to get tube bias.

So it is definitely not auto bias.

Besides, they said tube 6550we has about 2000hours. 

And I think it is pretty shorter than normal. But I do not know why.

 

@stone1 The amp from Tone is indeed an I/50, but it isn't an ARC I/50. It's from a company in Portugal. The amp from the lbtech link is the ARC I/50 and the article does say auto bias. I think the author may have jumped the gun when he said all ARC amps are auto bias. I read the owners manuals for all of their current amps and it is true that all of the ARC power amps are auto bias, but the two integrated amps aren't. The VSi75 is user adjustable and the I/50 is not. I'm pretty sure if the bias on the I/50 was automatic or user adjustable it would say so in the manual just like it did in all the ARC amp manuals I've read. I guess when you manufacture a product to a certain price point you have to make some compromises.

Ah - maybe it was there (lbtech link) all along and I missed it the second time through somehow. Thanks @stone1 

you have it here , and also found it on other site at the time.
"The i50 also uses an auto-bias configuration, so you will not have to worry about that aspect of vacuum tube operation either."
but of course its not official and things must to be checked.
https://www.tonepublications.com/review/the-audolici-i50-swing/
and here
 

 

@rsfphil i had linked to a preview above that, at the time, said something along the lines of “like all Audio Research’s recent offerings, the I/50 will have auto bias…”. Curiously, the article has been changed and no longer references that. Can’t find it anywhere else either. Huh. 

@dweller The manual says "Upon replacing a power tube or tube set, the I/50 must be biased by a trained technician to ensure proper operating values."

@stone1 Where did you read that the I/50 has auto bias? I can’t seem to find it anywhere. May I just missed it. Thanks.

 

Interested to hear.

 

i'm planning to ask the distributor here to check this subject with ARC

That is probably after you install a new tube-set.

the question is why if it has automatic bias , you still have to bias it "by a trained technician to ensure proper operating values."
something is contradicting here ?

found this:
"Like all modern amplifiers from Audio Research, this one also has automatic bias adjustment, which makes living  with a valve amplifier much easier".
but still, i  would like to have an option to check and bias it by myself from time to time.

i read somewhere that it has an automatic bias.
its a bit hard to believe that you cant make a bias.
any way i asked a friend of mine, a experience technician in those amps, to check this subject.
i agree that its a bit bother, since from my experience tubes bios should be checked from time to time, even before replacing.
this subject must be checked.
2000 hours is not so much to people that use the amp frequently.
"If your amplifier is getting regular use (2+ hours a day), you should at a minimum check the bias every 3-6 months."

This was taken from the I/50 owners manual.

 

Vacuum Tubes
It is recommended that you replace the vacuum tubes of your I/50 in sets. All of the tubes in your amplifier have been matched to have similar operating characteristics, to provide the best sound quality and reliability. 6550WE tubes should be replaced at approximately 2000 hours. 6922 tubes should be replaced before 4000 hours. Upon replacing a power tube or tube set, the I/50 must be biased by a trained technician to ensure proper operating values.

 

It seems like the amp can’t be biased by the owner of the amp. If that is true that would definitely be a dealbreaker for me. Just sayin’.
 

what do you mean by "the more contemporary i/50 styling" ?

I went to PU a turntable last week and had a brief listen the the i/50 driving Davone Grande. The integrated looked slick, the speakers even better. The setup sounded pretty nice to my ears. 

Big ARC fan here and I like the more contemporary i/50 styling for WAF.

 

If ARC can deliver its typical product performance in a more contemporary package that perhaps more might want to own, I’m all for that.

 

A tube integrated amp has been on my bucket list for quite awhile and ARC is always one of my favorite go-tos for reliable tube gear and good sound.

 

 

Having recently heard the I/50 integrated I feel that it represents superb quality for 5K , For my part I’m not so sure about the styling tho 

i am thinking on buying this new  audio research I/50 integrated
unfortunately there is no option to listen to it on demonstration in my country, only i can order it.
couldn't find yet any review about it's sound quality.
does any one found some review?

Happy New Year!

I’m afraid that this post is not going to help anyone too much. First off, I have no experience with equipment of this caliber or any other AR gear.  The first couple of weeks, the I/50 was connected to some 20 year-old semi-decent Klipsch speakers and it sounded great (again, to me).  My new speakers are not in and the unit has been disconnected during some home construction.  During speaker evals at the dealer, I found that the amp is too good for my turntable (Rega P2) and I need to improve my game there.

So- from a guy with tinnitus who ran it for a couple of weeks on bad speakers via an inadequate source-  it was lights out awesome.

+1 for Monty to share his experience thus far and also please include what other ARC gear you are comparing either currently or that you have owned in the past.

Monty,

 

Can you share your impressions so far?

 

Merry Christmas!

????

Curious to hear reviews here and to learn what’s next for ARC. 

Monty,

Can you share the price paid? 

What state are you in?

 

Thanks!

Just got word, mine will be here tues

Same here! I am interested in moving into a tube integrated and really curious as to the sound. Also like that adding the DAC is optional. Pretty great video by Darko that I watched yesterday.- American Made: Audio Research I/50

Well as we can see October came and went.

Last I heard it is a Jan/Feb delivery.

Still anxious to see what it sounds like.

I hope the base price doesn't change!!!

Has anyone heard anything further on this?  I expected it in October!

I toured the ARC facility in Minneapolis end Sept. Commissioner Gordon was the guide. Very top level person. Jaded me was impressed.
We saw a prototype of the I-50. No photos allowed. Comes with auto-bias, hour clock for tube use, choice of 5 colors for trim and optional
Phono stage and/or DAC. This may be for me! I will hear it Oct 27th!
It has more bling than you would expect from ARC. 

I haven’t seen anything recently on this amp, but per this link, it does have auto-bias. 
https://www.lbtechreviews.com/news/hi-fi/smart-valve-amp-with-additional-optionsed-utbyggingsmulighe...

Wonder if auto bias…..hmmmm. 

Does anyone have a idea about what sort of comparison there is between the Pass Labs INT25 and this new offering?

I'm also really happy to see this product.   I've had a Audio Research vsi60 for years and have been looking to upgrade (with another Audio Research amp) for a bit.   The vsi75 isn't available in black and neither is the Gsi75 and the reference series is expensive.  

I am really happy to see this product. Moving back towards bang for the buck, made in USA without ridiculous bling. If I was looking to downsize or building a compact system, it would be this. 

5G;'s, not bad.
Jadis jhas a  I50 as well, How about that.
2 I50's avalible
Jadis is a bit , well most likely alot more.
But if you have 5G's, you also have 8G's. 
My power tube of choice would be the EL34
Pity my Defy will not accept EL34's.
As I say, tube amp = tube amp\Power tube = power tube.
only miniscule differences twix dif labs and dif power tubes. 
Blind folded you might/might not tella   a  kt120 vs a  EL34.
I just like the EL34's longer running life, lower  price, sweeter midrange  vs my KT88's. 
The EL34 is and will be the best power tube.
I;'d go Cayin EL34 amps or LM EL34 amps, or Muzishare EL34 amps. 
Tube amp = tube amp. 
Its all in the craftmanship/quality that sets one apart from the other.
Soundwise, they are all about equal. 
Including Dynaco ST90, Allan Organ amps from decdes ago, =  both sound just (almost??)as good as the Jadis Defy, with Mundorf top line caps/Takman Metal resistors. 
ARC is not going to blow away either of the 3 chinese stars. 
Blind test, ,,no wait, even no blind test, you'd be shocked at how close the 3 chinese stars are to Jadis/ARC big guns.
Tube amp = tube amp\
Power tube = power tube.(but each brand does have different voicing, = I found the Gold Lion KT88's not same sound as the Svetlana KT88,,,but I'm thinking the best in this class are the EH KT88's, which is my next purchase)
Myth  buster here. and 
Out.

I'm interested also to see the follow up power amp only version . that teamed with my vintage SP8 would look cool as ...

iF Warren is in as deep as they say, this will be fantastic…..

6922 plentiful, rugged and can be screened ( Roger Modjeski RAM tubes ultra grade ) for very high quality.

Team USA, how cool. 

Thanks for sharing! I’m partial to the black.  I’m curious to hear one and see some detailed reviews. Price point could be ok IMO if the sound holds to traditional ARC standards, I think, but part of me wonders if it’s a little too… gimmicky? The color options remind me a bit of the less expensive Apple IPhones. 
I’ve no doubt ARC knows the market better than I do!

For someone who owns ARC separates and is downsizing, it's interesting. Anyone notice the signal tubes are 6922's. Wonder why? This gives the owner an opportunity to voice the unit to their tastes. 

Black or Silver ? Both stunning . Silver is old school traditional look . he other colours will gain wide appeal amongst younger newcomers to the brand I suspect .

Additional Audio Research i50 integrated amp info posted by a California retailer. This link includes pictures of the amp. Base model is $5,000 and the model with phono is $5,750. Please see the ad for more details.

https://www.musicloversaudio.com/post/new-product-audio-research-i-50-integrated-amplifier

I see now the Aussie link I posted above has been disabled - odd. 
Hopefully ok to link to other audio forums - found this brief discussion: https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=49413

 I'm breaking in the Klipsch Forte 4 in my Home Theater system and they sound great! Planning to try them in my music rig shortly. Have a feeling they are going to blow me away! And with 300B or Triodes? Wow.

I’ve no idea, but the $9K referenced in the ARC link I posted is from an Australian site, and maybe therefore AUD? If so, AU$9K ~ US $6600. Guess we’ll know more eventually.