Just to clear up any misconceptions about AC supply from a wall outlet. If you connect a properly operating tube amp, or any other amp to a 20 amp AC wall outlet, with a 20 amp rated cord, and that device only requires 3.5 amps to run, all it’s going to draw from that 20 amp supply is 3.5 amps. Notice I said ’properly operating’. If it has an internal fault that causes it to draw 20 amps, it will try to draw 20 amps and then your problems start. Under normal operating circumstances, no electronic device will draw more current than it requires regardless of how much current is available. Voltage is a different matter. It will try to use whatever voltage is presented to the wall outlet. When trouble shooting a problem like this, the very first step should be to verify that the outlet is properly wired and to see how much voltage is being supplied. The tester erik_squires linked is exactly what you need for that task. If the outlet is good, then you visually inspect the power cord for damage and use a multimeter to test it’s continuity. Easier still, just try a different cord of the same size/rating and see if the problem is still there. As others have suggested, you could still have a defective small signal tube or, more likely, a rectifier tube if that model of McIntosh uses one. I personally would replace all the small tubes one at a time before shipping the amp off to McIntosh for repair. To that end, I always have a full replacement set of tubes available for my tube amp.
10 gauge power cord. Too much power for tube amp?
Tube amplifiers tend to be sensitive on incoming voltages. Is there a chance a bigger gauge power cord like 10 gauge may not be a good thing?
My amplifier tends to shut down occasionally upon start up. maybe moving to a higher gauge might be better. Does it matter?
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- 39 posts total
- 39 posts total