a few concerns with my latest aquisition (sp extreme)

[crappyjones123]

i apologise if i dont like to take people for granted and have them tote around my gear and do my work for me. while i understand and fully realize that mike had no hidden agenda and offered to take my amp and tubes to troubleshoot with oz, i feel uncomfortable having him do that on my behalf. yes, i should accept kind gestures like his but things would probably be different if i had a different upbringing. i apologise if it makes me seem stubborn and/or stupid, it is just part of who i am.

thanks again for everyones help. i will contact mikhail and just let him deal with the amp issues if there really are any. this thread has gone long enough already.

[tyrion]

No problem, I won't offer again.

[riceboy]

Hey CJ. Please keep us updated though. I would like to know what route you are taking and to see if I can help in any way as well. If you feel more comfortable PMing me that is fine too.

Thanks again everyone for helping out too . I really appreciate it.

[grawk]

Are you still feeding hte amp with your laptop? Ground issues can make everything weird, and having a computer electrically connected to a tube amp can make for REALLY weird things.

[crappyjones123]

just sold the mullard. hopefully that can cover the cost of the shipping to mikhail if that route is to be taken. i am planning on sending frank a message to see if he can help. dont know if the amp is still under warranty. if it is then id rather just send it to mikhail regardless of how much time it takes. i havent heard of many cases where amps came back unfixed from him.

[Voltron]

Wait, CJ, grawk makes a good point. Have you tried a CDP or something as a source? The headphone output of a laptop isn't a real test of the amp and may be a cause of problems.

[boomana]

cj, there's being stubborn and then there's being a fool. Right now, you're being a fool. Why send the amp off to mikhail and wait possibly months when there's a shot that there's nothing wrong with it? Figure out a way to test it here at home before you send it off into the Colorado void. If you don't, you 100% lose the right to complain anywhere on this site, including the chat room, about any more problems. In fact, I don't even want to hear anything more about this amp other than you're taking someone up on the offer to help test it out.

[crappyjones123]

ok, i think ive really screwed things up now - made the queen mad. ill see if mike hasnt been severely ticked off. need to get a hold of dom to get my pcdp back. he still has it from tampa.

[Torpedo]

CJ, you're receiving good advice mate, specially considering you're new to the tubes world. What you're feeling is a problem that needs some manufacturer's fixing, could just be normal issues which you just would need to accept as a trade off for the source you're using, or for some old/underperforming tubes.

Just give it a think

[pompon]

What's the result to swap left/right tubes finally ?

[pompon]

none of the tubes were dead quiet from the ones i tried. all of them started exhibiting noise at the 12 o'clock position. the volume knob starts at the 7 o'clock position and ends at the 5 o'clock position. dont know if that says anything.

On my MPX3 I am listening at 9h o'clock and I have already 85 dbc peek at this position. At 12 o'clock, I will damage my ear for sure ! 8-)

The hiss you hear should be very low (barely audible).

If more than that, change the tubes (probably too high gain in the input position) ...

[crappyjones123]

wonder how much shit im going to get for this post...*flame suit on*

so upon dan's most valuable of advice, i stole the $30 dvd player from downstairs and tried it as a source to the extreme. lets just say that i didnt actually hear any static that im guessing the laptop was introducing. no annoying high pitched whiny noises. no plastic bag noises so far. bass was MUCH leaner. lacking tightness but much leaner. MUCH more detailed sound. highs were a problem with me but that i think is the source's fault. very very warm inviting sound otherwise.

HOWEVER, after about 3 minutes of use, there was absolutely no sound in the left channel. my roommate was listening to something and he complained that the sound in the left channel slowly just died out. the volume just kept dipping until you could hear it no more. i turned off the amp for about an hour and then tried it once more before going to bed, and after about 15 minutes both channels were going strong. i tested the initially thought to be dead tubes with a heathkit tc-2 tester and they all read very well. going to go to oz later during winter break to make sure the old heathkit wasnt lying. i havent come to the conclusion though that there is certainly something off about the amp since now i have at least somewhat reliable confirmation of the tubes being ok. if it were a tube issue, i think reseating tubes or changing their positions would have gotten rid of it but with the no sound thing having happened twice now and the plastic bag sound happened twice ONLY IN THE LEFT CHANNEL makes me doubt all is well inside the amp. ill ask the gentleman at the ee lab to see if he has worked with any tube equipment previously and if he can take a look inside the amp to make sure all the connections are solid and no loose wires are floating around. if he gives me the ok then i guess i can message flecom or someone else who wants to take a crack at troubleshooting this left channel nonsense.

the past two hours have made me realise that i will be buying a new source fairly quickly. perhaps i could save all the money i make over the next month and just buy the exemplar 2900 from mike a few weeks from now

who knew anything besides a laptop would make the sound so much better

/runs away and hides.

[Dusty Chalk]

[engrish]Hoolay![/engrish]

[n_maher]

cj, when the left channel goes out are the filaments still lit (is the tube still glowing)? That would eliminate at least two possible connection problems.

[Sherwood]

CJ, I nominate you for team "source absolutely dead fucking last".

[crappyjones123]

cj, when the left channel goes out are the filaments still lit (is the tube still glowing)? That would eliminate at least two possible connection problems.

nate, i will try to look again tonight. im using a 2c51 tube and they are small enough as is, the filament is very hard to see. ill try with the lights turned off later. too much light in my room right now.

i tried listening to the amp earlier today on two separate occasions. both times about 5 minutes into the first song, the left channel doesnt dim and then then die out...it just goes away after a little "bloop" sound. the right channel goes strong as ever but no sound out of the left channel after that "bloop" sound.

i will check the filament later and report on it.

[crappyjones123]

CJ, I nominate you for team "source absolutely dead fucking last".

can i have an office in the team? cj for pres in the next elections.

[Guest sacd lover]

CJ, I nominate you for team "source absolutely dead fucking last".

LOL ... good one.

[Dreadhead]

who knew anything besides a laptop would make the sound so much better

/runs away and hides.

ding ding ding.....

buy something halfway decent too.

[Dusty Chalk]

nate, i will try to look again tonight...i will check the filament later and report on it.

You also need to try the "swap channels" trick. Tubes, cables, etc. Wherever you can. If you have the kind of headphone where you can detach the cables, do that, too. One at a time, of course, so if it does switch channels, you know exactly which step caused it to do so (if it is the amp, then the only one which should cause it to switch channels is the headphone cable).

[Sherwood]

can i have an office in the team? cj for pres in the next elections.

You'll have to compete with Luminette, who once ran a pair of HE90s out of Elephas' ES-1 with a game boy advanced as the source.

Of course, that was a publicity stunt, not a long-term solution. I'll second your nomination.

[n_maher]

nate, i will try to look again tonight. im using a 2c51 tube and they are small enough as is, the filament is very hard to see. ill try with the lights turned off later. too much light in my room right now.

Switch to a 6SN7, should be much easier to see. Doesn't sound like your problem is related to anything that simple based on what you said below.

i tried listening to the amp earlier today on two separate occasions. both times about 5 minutes into the first song, the left channel doesnt dim and then then die out...it just goes away after a little "bloop" sound. the right channel goes strong as ever but no sound out of the left channel after that "bloop" sound.

[crappyjones123]

yes, i finally have some kind of indication that i am not completely insane. the problem with the left channel is consistent now. 4th time i have turned on the amp and it has given me the bloop sound followed by either silence or noise in the left channel ONLY. no longer going to use the amp unless i can show it to someone who can open it up and troubleshoot it. the problem occurs in the left channel only. i tried a tung-sol 6sn7 tube with ge 5998s and all filaments in all 3 tubes were glowing just as that "bloop" happened. only this time instead of the left channel just producing no sound at all, produced that plastic bag in the wind kinda sound that i mentioned in my very first post. i tested that particular tube before i put it in the amp and it read ~80 on the heathkit tester (well into the "good" region).

i may or may not be correct in this assumption but i have come to think that the problem is most certainly with the amp and not the tubes since its always just the left channel with *any* tube and it happens about the same amount of time after i turn on the amp (roughly 5 minutes if even that). one similarity between what i just heard now and what i heard when i first had this problem was that the plastic bag rustling sound either grew louder or seemed to be getting closer to my ear with time. i wasnt able to tell the difference.

now that i know that there is a consistent problem, i wouldnt mind having any local people having a listen to the amp anytime after the 8th (my last final). i can bring it over anytime/anyday after the 8th. just didnt want to have someone listen to the amp when it intermittently sounded fine and conclude i was making this all up.

ps. with the 2c51 tubes, the sound just goes away after the bloop. with the 6sn7 tubes the plastic bag sound comes in right after the bloop and keeps getting louder with time.

[crappyjones123]

just spoke with a few guys at the ee lab and they all pointed to this guy on campus who works in the broadcasting dept who seems to know whats going on. he things its a capacitor thats leaking which is why it heats up and then the channel cuts out. we shall see tomorrow. taking in the amp to him to see if he can do anything with it. wish me luck.

[riceboy]

just spoke with a few guys at the ee lab and they all pointed to this guy on campus who works in the broadcasting dept who seems to know whats going on. he things its a capacitor thats leaking which is why it heats up and then the channel cuts out. we shall see tomorrow. taking in the amp to him to see if he can do anything with it. wish me luck.

Thanks CJ for the update. Please let us know what he finds. Once again best of luck on your finals.