My #@%$ Cat Destroyed My ARC REF 5SE. Soliciting Suggestions.

anzaanimalclinic Can you tell me why one of our cats (smaller one) enjoys peeing in our bathroom sinks occasionally?  We've had cats for 35 years and this (intelligent) cat does this once every two weeks.   I suspect she sees us using the sink and is so personable that she wants to imitate us in the bathroom.

The next great discovery in all human history after fire and scripture technology, would be the discovery of the consciousness of living entity.... More profund discovery than even the link with extraterestrials...

My 5 cents....

Cats thinks without solving equations tough and dont do speech ....

Hi. I am sorry for your loss but I am not a big ARC fan now for many years! Overpriced and Overhyped in my opinion! Have been a professional audio consultant in Colorado for many years! Once I discovered Atma- Sphere Amps located also in the state of Minnesota I have used them ever since! They use Triode tubes instead of what ARC uses. Don't have to pay for expensive tube matching either! I know the owner personally and the reviews in Absolute Sound not Stereophile are always consistent! I use the 60 watt monos and they blow away many other expensive amps! So maybe it's time for a change! Good look with the cat!😋

In whatjd's thread "what are the most used terms in high end" avsjerry offered "liquid". Your cat just desired that liquid sound. 😺. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Poor Kitty! You are a good cat dad, don't listen to the haters.
When my cat wants attention she walks up and threatens my speakers, she knows exactly what she is doing.
Hope you find a resolution. If the 7k includes all new tubes and a warranty I would do that.

@goldenear19;  What's with the Audio Research bashing? It's okay that you don't like Audio Research for your own personal reasons.  However, in my opinion, most things are over priced and over hyped.  So, include all the other items out there in your response.

Audio Research, like Atmosphere, and many others make excellent products and they keep people employed.

Audio Research quoted the OP a price for repairing the device.  They are one of the few companies out there (Martin Logan and Atmosphere comes to mind) that will still repair just about all of their previous products.  That is saying something.  A complete stuffed circuit board ain't cheap.  To take apart and test individual components and also a multi layer circuit board that may have fried internal traces is just to complicated and expensive, so they quoted replacing the entire board.  At least they still have that board around to replace.  That is also saying something.  If there are very small on-board circuits instead of through hole components, that also adds another costly level of diagnosis and repair.

Lets put aside the fact that we have a completely untrained cat that urinated on a very expensive piece, or a cat that was seriously trying to get the OP's attention (which the cat did), if by some other means a person fried the entire circuit board, it would still cost a pretty penny to either repair it or replace it.  I don't care who the manufacturer is in this case.  It's going to cost serious money to repair.

Get if fixed, or replace it, but definitely train that cat.

enjoy

Train the pussy dude!!

It’s not a pre amp, it’s a Pee amp....
seriously, the R core transformer alone has value.. sell it for parts and get a Ref 6

sorry for the loss

I took the plexiglass cover off my REF 6 and took a look.  If the REF 5SE is anywhere close, then Audio Research used through hole parts on the circuit board.   Also, on the REF 6 main board, I didn't see any logic circuitry.  That was on other boards.  This makes it easier to disconnect and test traces and individual components to see where the problem is.   But first, I would check to tubes to see if they are working, by bring the power up slowly with a variac.

If a schematic is available (which it is not), then testing for voltages and signals at certain places on the board is what is next.

If the logic circuity was damaged, then that is an entirely different problem.

it is time consuming, but doable.  If you don't want to spend the time and money to get it fixed, then maybe a REF 6 is the next logical step. 

For me, I would be taking it apart now and checking components.  after thorough cleaning, and inspection, it may come down to a shorted diode or some such.

I can definitely see and understand why Audio Research said that a new circuit board is the way to go.  I can even understand why it is expensive, but $6,000 for a stuffed circuit board with removal/installation and test?  

Hmmmm?  But, I'm assuming that the circuit board is indeed stuffed.  If it isn't, then there is substantial time and effort involved in stuffing a circuit board by hand.  

Quite honestly, if I didn't want to diagnose and repair it myself, I would send it to an authorized Audio Research repair center like George Meyers AV in Los Angeles and let them figure out what the problem is and the costs to repair it.  I wouldn't tell them anything about the cat issue.

you might get an entirely different response and lower costs to repair.

Unplug it, spray it with electronics parts cleaner and ship if off for diagnosis and repair.

enjoy

There is nothing worse then cat pee for smell and the damage it can cause. I much prefer dog pee if I had to choose between the two. I can imagine how devastated you were when you discovered this problem. There is a silver lining in every dark cloud. This could be a chance to sell  the reference at a loss and buy something else, you might actually wind up with a better sound yet. Then maybe you will you won't be so sore at the cat.
goldenears19 may have a good point with atma-Sphere being a step up and worth looking in to.

Another reason why you should avoid tube amps/preamps which use printed circuit boards.You get all sorts of problems.Hard wired is how they should be.

I may have missed it, what was the resolution, fix the preamp, buy a used one, other?

Kill this dumb threads already.

Perhaps a cat whisperer or cat diapers (wear “very” thick long sleeved gloves).

On a more serious note, I’d make sure that the cat pee problem is resolved before another costly accident happens. Could be that the cat is angry, jealous, sick, or stressed.

Meow Meow DUDE!!!!

Someone's got into the catnip!!! 

Cats the other white meat.

I dog might do the same or similar but at least they would feel guilty...

What comes to mind is all of those used ads preaching “pet and kid free.” Shame this happened. I’m very sorry for you!

entertaining - if sad for op

Take the cat to your local Chinese restaurant.
Enjoy the Music!

Hello everybody!
Haven't had access to A'gon for a bit. I return and read a lot of useful info, not so useful info and a spirited conversation about why cats and audio equipment are not compatible.

I didn't realize there are many audiophiles who believe cats are totally useless, and have too many lives (9).

Here's what I figured out-
I am going to bring my Ref5SE to my audio dealer, who will send to his bench tech, who will price out repair of the main board. He believes the board can be "re-striped" because the capacitors attached were not damaged. 

We shall see.....

PS
minorl-agree with your insights.
stevea11757-Ben at High-End is a good person. 
teo_audio and gktaudio-I agree with your assessments and recommendations.
timinphoenix-Thanks! I may be in touch.
fleschler-I did not know that about insurance. Thanks for the info.

Very sorry to hear, OP. My girlfriend has 2 cats, and I mostly enjoy them, but they’re pretty dumb animals. Their curiosity serves more for destructive powers than intelligent learning. Yes, they have tweaked up a valued piece of audio gear I had here (clawed/torn rubber surround on a Tannoy Eyris DC3 speaker), but not $7K worth.

If it’s $7K in for repair, personally I’d put that same money towards a used/demo Reference 6 and a custom cover (acrylic or canvas) - that money takes you most of the way there, and everyone I’ve seen who’s moved from 5SE to 6 has claimed it’s a big upgrade. I haven’t heard the 5SE but have a 6 and love it - truly a wonderful sounding pre. The unfortunate reality is that $7K is a little above a 5SE’s used-market price now.

Of course there are always other interesting preamps to look at, some for much less than $7K. Don Sachs, LTA, Atmasphere, and Herron would be on my curiosity list.

Edit: Might as well give your dealer's tech a chance first, see where that goes!

Go pet free in your stereo room ASAP.

The Ref 5se is an exceptional piece. I love mine. I bought it earlier this year for $6K, and then put in new tubes. I usually see them going for $6,500 on Agon. I guess the advantage to fixing yours and spending $7K is that you get a new main board and the factory measures and listens to it to make sure it's running like new. 

@w

About 20 years ago we had a preamp out for review with Harry Pearson of TAS. His cat urinated in the preamp section. It came back to us to see what we could do- it was a mess. I took it to a car wash, the manual kind with the high pressure sprayers and gave it a good spray at close range- getting the spray beneath the tube sockets and the like. Then I took it to the shop, let it dry and then replaced a few resistors that were damaged. After that added a bit of contact lubricant to the volume control and gain trim controls; after that it worked just fine.

FWIW at the time we had our circuit boards made at the same place ARC did (Electronic Industries; if that name is familiar to some of you old timers it is in fact the very same Electronic Industries that spun off Audio Research). I think the Ref5 was made prior to Electronic Industries being bought out so there is a good chance the boards were made there. This might not be nearly as serious as you think!

To a fellow AudiogoNer who has had “troubles” over the years.  I have a few tube amps in the “bone yard” that might ease your pain until you find a solution.  PM me and we can work out a deal that will ease your pain.  Take care.

😹

Sorry for your loss. Get the Ref 6 SE and once you hear it you’ll forget all about the other one. 

So... What did you end up doing? 

@audiogabby -it's "in the shop." I am currently using an older Onkyo integrated until it gets repaired. I bought the Onkyo just before the birth of my now 25 year old son. It's been in storage. Sound fromthe Onkyo not bad. Interestingly, I really appreciate how good my ProAcs are with the amp driving them.

@carey1110 -I heard the REF 6. It's fantastic. It has the great qualities of the REF5SE and deeper bass, higher top end (without the harshness) and incredible imaging and spatial placement. It's also $$$$, soalas I will wait.

wharfy,

I am very sorry to learn about the cat issue.  I used to own the ARC Ref 5SE and IMO, it was a very fine sounding linestage.  About 2 years ago, I traded up to an ARC Ref 6.  Big overall improvement, especially in the bass. 

If you are still interested in an easy fix, I see preowned Ref 5SEs listed for sale on Audiogon for ask prices that are less than ARC's quoted repair quote.  OTOH, if you are willing to put some more money into your rig, the Ref 6 or Ref 6 SE will be a good choice.

Again, sorry to learn about the cat problem.  I am sure you learned a painful lesson about letting your cat have access to your rig.

BIF       

" Hi, I am sorry for your loss but I am not a big ARC fan now for many years! "

Hi, sorry for your loss but I am not a big cat fan now for many years! As a matter of fact I’m no longer a pet fan. Don’t need them. Had horses, dogs, cats, birds etc. The best pet is someone else’s.