ARC VT 100: MkII vs. MkIII?

I've experienced the 6922 tube failure that Gmorris mentioned (at locations V-7 and V-8). However, I do love the sound of this amp. That's why I'm curious about the sound of the upgrade. ARC has the technical info on the upgrade available as a fax (they're delaying, they say, posting to their website to coincide with other product introductions). The changes are as Ttl2000 says, which basically is the driver stage from the ARC VTM200-200W monoblock. BTW, I've also heard from an ARC dealer that 6922 failure was one thing that prompted the revision. However, what does this new version sound like? The guy I talked with at ARC said that the bass on the MkIII made the Mk II's bass response sound "wooly" by comparison. He also said that the new amp just sounds like a more powerful amp overall . But, what do less partisan ears think? America wants to know!

I talked to my dealer yesterday...he advised that ARC will be upgrading the entire line to the new tubes and set-up. He also said there is a clear difference in sound and said pre-amp upgrades will make a bigger difference than amplifier.The new tubes are of higher quality and will last substanially longer. The high upgrade cost should cause us all to analyze this fully before investing. Thank you ARC for upgradability and fantastic products.

Djbaudio and the rest of you and any fans of ARC's current products. Do you know where I can find a nice SP-10 Mk2?

Hey, I agree with Djbaudio. spend you money wisely. If your current ARC equipment bring you happiness then don't rush into the upgrade. System matching is everything in this hobby. ARC has a history of putting out tons of upgrades. Just go to their website and look at the upgrade page. How does one determine that an upgrade actually sounds better than the old version? - depends on your taste - Shortly after the REF 1 was introduced, there was an upgrade to it, replacing some old caps with infini caps. Nothing changed in the circuit topology, just upgrade to infini caps. Why ARC did not use the inifin caps right from the start is a mistery to me. Now, REF 2 uses tube power supply and it sounds warmer??????? If you already have a warm sounding system, would you change to REF 2? I think not.

I talked with Leonard at ARC too. On the extended tube life, he mentioned that the life of the input tubes has gone from 5000 hours to 10,000 hours, but the power tube life at 2000 hours remains the same. The thetubestore.com 6550C power tubes cost 240 a matched set and the input tubes are 95 a set. He said the failure of the 6922's is actually caused by overheating when you place the vt100 in an enclosed area instead of an open rack/amp stand. That amp does generate a lot of heat. He also mentioned that the bass response would be improved and that a new 12v on/off input would be available. This presumably is for future control from another source to turn the amp on and off.