Amp / Tubes / Channel


When we moved in together, my partner introduced me to her trusty old friends - a Golden Tube SE-40 amp and an SEP-1 pre-amp (plus a pair of small, but impressive Optimus speakers).
I feel like I'm breaking commandments by connecting my 20-year-old magnavox CD changer to these classic engines, but I forged ahead, including new cables all around. The improvement over the sound that came out of my old components is unbelievable.
However, only one channel plays... I have two questions. Could the lack of signal on one channel be tube-related or is that kind of problem likely to be internal? And would replacing all the tubes make a big difference in sound? (tube recommendations?)
bf218tri
I moved the tubes - reversed them. Still, the same one channel plays and the other does not.
I need someone knowledgeable and qualified to get inside this amp. I live in Rochester, NY. Do you have any recommendations? Re: Repair of Golden Tube amplifier?
Reading through this post, I'm not clear if you tested all of your components to make sure that the problem is with the amp. For example, if the right channel is OK and the left is not working, go to the back of your preamp and unplug the cable for the right channel of your CD player. Then take the CD players left channel and plug it into the right on the back of the preamp. Play a CD and if you still hear music, you just confirmed that both channels on your CD player work and its definitely OK. You need to do this with all of your components (if you haven't already).
Bf. Call Joe at Service Technology at 585-427-2970. He been repairing hifi for over 40 years. He fixed my sons tube headphone amp and also does repairs for Rowe I believe. He's over on Brighton Henrietta Townline Rd near Winton.