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On Jan 25, 6:40*pm, Patrick Turner wrote:
On Jan 25, 2:45*pm, "Watt? Me worry?" wrote:





Hi RATs!

ARC builds status symbols for buyers with more money than brains. They
are legion.

ARC is a business. In business, designers are not in charge of much,
unless they also are the owner. But, owner/designers are not all
geniuses. Some may think they are...

______

I have worked on old tube gear. The 110Vac it was designed for is
hidden in the 122.5 Vac in my wall socket.

I put pairs of resistors, one on each end of the power transformer
primary, until the measured at the pins heater voltage is 6.3V, MAX. 6
volts is adequate. (OK, 12.6 volts MAX, as required)

Yes, the Rs take up space and create heat. No, that excess power and
heat never get into the unit.

Putting Rs between the PT and the OPT maximizes the damage done by the
too high voltage and only addresses part of the problem.

Once the heaters are not frying the tubes, I proceed to tune the
circuits.

Often, the circuits are well within specs, once the heater voltage is
tamed.

Sixteen 6550 tubes is not design, it is style. Style sells. People buy
sizzle, not steak.

Some ARC owners never complain. They never turn them on. They look
cool, that is all that is required.

They tell the tech they listen all the time, but, only get it fixed to
sell it.

______

Patrick, are you near the floods? I thought you were in western Oz,
but, I imagine more than I remember, these days.

Music is a joy. I used to know some interesting stuff about that, too.

Happy Ears!

Al

BTW, I forgot to mention that ARC amps with lotsa multiple 6550 can
sound very good despite all you say about style, and agony, which
people a putton on all the time in many ways including when they buy
an ARC amp.

But lets not be fooled, any keen audio amatuer may get excellent sound
in his lounge with just 2 x 6550 or even less if he knows what he's
doing. I once got into trouble with an audio club for saying the ARC
reference 600 monbloc was like a Rolls Royce with 16 wheels. Kind of
excessively capable.

But we live in times where every man may live as well a a king if he
so choses in the Land Of the Free, the Land of Glory, Land of
Opportunity, *etc, and more BS etc, *Good 'Ol USof A, where the
doctors and dentists and lawyers are outrageously expensive.

Whoopee, gimme all those 6550, we demand it, they all cry.

Set up properly, the 6550 plus a decent drive amp can make pass music
without damaging its soul.

Patrick Turner.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

In the Land of the Free aka as Home of the Brave, when the mains
voltage is is off 10--20% we use Variacs . And no need to monkey
around with unnecessary 'modifucations' .