heeeelp please audio reserch 5SE - resistor blew up

But let’s ignore all that and focus on REF 5se or any other tube preamp above let’s say $10 K

invest in a spare set of tubes, Factory if you desire
and a decent tube tester

both of which pale in comparison to your initial investment.....

and DHL services most of the planet, why not get that 6550 tested or replaced before installation?

Yea some people can hear the difference in regulator tubes.  I can't and you need not show me.  We are all here to try to help the OP revive his line stage.  I have had it repairing gear that's been "NOSed" by snake oil merchants.  Audio Research, Sonic Frontiers, you name it.  But too many people just get talked back into it after and after a month or two they call me again.

hey guys

thank you all
i found my problem on the 5SE , there where 4 zener diode on the other side of the board that was open .
after replacing them the pre amp works.
i have a question  for you , i found that when i swutch from balance to rca , and there is no rca interconnect is plug in i can ear music that is very low . is that ok ?
and another thing , i put a new set of 6h30 and 6550 from sovtek
and the sound is bad , does the tubes in break in before it start to sound right
thank you

Unless the amp is noisy give the tubes some time to break in. If it's noisy then you probably got a bad tube. Also if you hear something through the speakers when tapping on the preamp chassis you've got a microphonic tube. It happens no matter what the sellers tells you. Most will swap them out for you. That's when you know you got a good dealer.

My experience with ARC is that they were designed and voiced around the Russian tubes so it shouldn't sound that bad.

Did you turn off the power before installing the 6550?