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Audio Research Ref. 210 questions

just got these today and was wondering about a couple things. Has anyone tried power cables other than stock? I was told by the seller that the stock cables were the best. The cables don't look like anything special to me ;) I was also wondering about footers etc.. Do any make a difference with these amps? I have them on the Adona Nemesis amps stands. Any replacement fan options - I find the too loud... How about the 6n1p tubes - anyone replace them?? Thanks for any and all info.
mantis007

Showing 2 responses by downunder

downunder
1,328 posts
 
I had a listen to the ref 210's for a few minutes and even at low volumes in a cold room the fans were churning away LOUDLY.
I think the 210's sounded quite good, but I could not get my head around why the fans were so loud, especially since the amps did not seem hot and volume was low. I can only imagine how loud the fan would be at high volumes.

Is this normal for this amplifier??

Does cutting the fans out make reliability an issue??
downunder
1,328 posts
 
Chris

I have tried to luv SS amps quite a few times but keep on gojng back to tubes. IMO a nice tube amp will always have over its SS counterpart
- 3d soundstage where SS in comparison can sounewhat 2 dimensional and flat
- tonal meat on instruments whereas SS tends to just sound thinner
- mids and high frequencies on a great tube amp seem to float in space, flow from note to note and still be very transparent
- SS bass when volume is pumped up very loud can have a tendancy to get tighter and tighter, whereas tube bass spreads a little to give a slightly fatter sound - whicj IMO sounds more lifelike
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