Audio Research I/50

Can you post a link?

This is as good as I could find, in addition to the pics on Audio Research’s Instagram: https://www.carltonaudiovisual.com.au/audio-research-i50-integrated-amplifier.html
It’s not much. 

https://www.balanced.com/vk80i-integrated-amplifier
There's already this, in a fairly similar power/price bracket.

Thanks to both. I'm looking long-term for a small, quality tube amp for my new Klipsch. I'm sure either of these would fit-the-bill. I'd lean toward the BAT (is the ARC triode?). Also, I've always wanted the legendary 300B in my system. Currently I'm "House rich" (small "r") so I don't have to worry about it for a while. I remember when $9000 used to be a lot of money.

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. 

 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 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

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

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 .

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. 

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!

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. 

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

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 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. 

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.  

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

Wonder if auto bias…..hmmmm. 

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...

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. 

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

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!!!

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

Just got word, mine will be here tues

Monty,

Can you share the price paid? 

What state are you in?

 

Thanks!

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

????

Monty,

 

Can you share your impressions so far?

 

Merry Christmas!

+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.

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.

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?

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 

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.

 

 

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. 

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

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’.
 

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."

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.

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 ?

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

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

Interested to hear.

 

@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.

 

@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. 

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
 

 

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

@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.