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Help! My tube preamp shocked my speaker!

hehe. Actually, what happened was one afternoon (the stereo had been playing for several hours) I heard a wierd buzzing/flickering/crackling sound, very briefly, but quite loudly, eminating from 1 speaker. I immediately walked into the room, just in time to see the woofer of my left speaker moving in a very srtange manner, as the noise ocurred again. I immediately shut the amp off. When I turned it back on, it happened immediately. So, I turned the amp off again, followed by the pre. When I turned it back on this time, everything was OK. Hasn't happened since. One of my 12au7 tubes (there are 2) is glowing brighter than the other, and actually started to soften and melt, however slightly, a silicon tube damping device that I purchased from Audio Research. This noise happened to me once before, but it was another tube preamp, which I had just bought, and was immediately replaced by the manufacturer. What's the deal??? I need to burn in some cables, but I'm not leaving my preamp alone with my speakers, I just dont know what she's capable of doing...
gthirteen
6 responses Add your response
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
Sounds like you already know what you need to do; replace those tubes - cheaper than a woofer!
neubilder
129 posts
 
Get a SS amp.
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,541 posts
 
I would (obviously) test all tubes and replace as needed (keep track of the performance specs for each old and new tube that remains in the amp). After doing this I would wait a reasonable amount of time (say three months) and then recheck the tubes again making special note of the tube from "that" socket. If "that" tube's specs degrade considerably more than the others, I would then have the preamp checked out by the manufacturer or another proffessional.
nedgilletteba8b
6 posts
 
Try Pass Labs..."Tubes without Tears"!
jcbtubes
400 posts
 
Gthirteen- I doubt that it is simply a "tube" problem. It sounds more like the bias on the suspect tube is off. You can try swapping the two tubes, to see if the problem stays with that particular socket. Also, simply reseating the tubes (cleaning the contacts upon removal and reinsertion) may help with dirty contacts. Don't give up on tubes. SS is more convenient, but rarely as musically rewarding. Just my $.02. Goodluck.
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
Rethinking this one a bit: it's quite possible that the tube is going south due to some other component-failure or value-change, such as resistors / caps. If contact cleaning, tube replacements & biasing don't cure this, then have the suspect unit bench tested. It sounds to me like you're not even for sure if the trouble is in the amp or preamp? If you don't know for sure, you might try leaving the amp running with no input connected, for a long term test. Good luck with your troubleshooting G13.
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