Yes, you seat the tubes and then bias. As a long term ARC owner, trust me please and invest in a decent Fluke. As in Fluke meter. And don't sweat it. Except that finding a reliable source of tubes particularly for your amp is not so easy anymore.
Audio Research - should I replace the valves?
I have a AR Ref 110 power amp and AR Ref 3 preamp. Both have done about 3,800 hours. They both work but I wonder if should be replacing the valves.
How can you tell if they’ve had it? Does the sound quality deteriorate & what happens if you don’t replace them?
i don’t think they sounds as good as they did but no pops or whistles or any other strange noises etc - just a bit flat sounding. But perhaps this is just my ears?
pp