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Audio Research Replacement Tubes

I purchased an Audio Research Ref160S new from a dealer about 2 1/2 years ago and replaced my KT150 tubes yesterday at 3,100 hours (ARC recommends 3,000 hours) and am astonished at the improvement it made.  

For those of you that may have some sound degradation or thinking about swapping out your tubes I highly recommend it.

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3 responses Add your response
ghdprentice
6,377 posts
 

+1

immatthewj
1,073 posts
 

I have always noted that when my output tubes were getting tired or sick I would start getting goofy bias readings.

ghdprentice
6,377 posts
 

OP,

Your post reminded me I had been meaning to change the tubes in my ARC Reference 3 phono stage. So, I did about an hour ago. 
 

Yes, they sound different. They are not broken in. It takes from ten to a hundred hours to calm down. They are trebly and a bit hard at first. 

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