Audio Research M100 Thumping


I just picked up a pair of ARC M100 mono blocks. When I turn them on, all is good. They operate fine for about 15-20 minutes, then the output cuts on one, and it begins a three-beat thump which sounds like a loud heartbeat. This occurs even if the volume is all the way down on the preamp. It also bleeds over to the other channel, but if I pull the speaker wires from the offending channel, the other channel is clear.

Ideas? Should I simply try replacing some of the output 6550s?

Thanks,

Brian.
bkrpdx
Run the amp without turning the C/J on, but leave it connected to the amp, and see if it motorboats. If after the 15-20 mins. the amp remains fine, it's not the amp.
The only other thing it may be is the coupling caps in the C/J are leaking DC voltage causing it to destabilize the M100's. It's also possible a regulated power supply in the C/J or caps in the C/J are defective. How old is your C/J preamp??
Thank you for the reply.

The amps do not motorboat with the preamp turned off. Preamp is from the 80s, but in 2010, the tube sockets, all filter and coupling caps, all tubes, and the power supply (upgraded to Hexfred) were all replaced. With my previous c-j amps, there was no motorboating. I am beginning to wonder if it is an incompatibility.