I think PrimaLuna and Rogue have pushed Audio Research to come up with amps like the VT80. ARC power amps normally are seriously fussy about tubes which I'm sure was no end of frustration for Upscale. They've sold enough tubes over time to figure out what will work and what won't.
I'm sure the VT100 scares the crap out of them.
What Audio Research has been doing since like the mid 90s is direct coupling the driver tube (the last small tube) to the output tubes. So when you bias an ARC power amp you're biasing the driver tube which then biases the output tubes. If the driver tube goes weak or fails or is just way off from the tube you swapped out you lose bias and then it's all smoke and burned boards.
No tube fuses, we die like real men!
Meanwhile everybody else is going from EL34s to KT150s with a single credit card swipe, so you get the VT80 or a Rogue or PrimaLuna.
The plus side is the coupling capacitor moves back to between the last gain stage and the driver which I'm guessing helps with the sound they are after. But now there is more direct interplay between the driver tube and outputs which is why ARC power amps are so darn fussy about tubes.
I'm sure the VT100 scares the crap out of them.
What Audio Research has been doing since like the mid 90s is direct coupling the driver tube (the last small tube) to the output tubes. So when you bias an ARC power amp you're biasing the driver tube which then biases the output tubes. If the driver tube goes weak or fails or is just way off from the tube you swapped out you lose bias and then it's all smoke and burned boards.
No tube fuses, we die like real men!
Meanwhile everybody else is going from EL34s to KT150s with a single credit card swipe, so you get the VT80 or a Rogue or PrimaLuna.
The plus side is the coupling capacitor moves back to between the last gain stage and the driver which I'm guessing helps with the sound they are after. But now there is more direct interplay between the driver tube and outputs which is why ARC power amps are so darn fussy about tubes.