Microphonic from Vacuum Tubes?
HI, I have a question regarding microphonic from vacuum tube. I have a Cary SLP-05, and I've changed the output gain tubes to some NOS RCA, and also recently purchased a pair of Linlai for the balanced buffer stage.
I now occasionally hear a loud pop in the music. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it is quite loud. This happens when I am streaming digital music, so it can't be those occasional pops you hear from vinyl.
Can someone tell me if this loud pop possibly caused by microphonic in my tubes? if so, how do I track down which tubes? My guess there is no easy way but change one tube at a a time, which can be extremely time consuming. Also I don't own a tube tester. I wonder that would help tracking it down.
Also I read something about vacuum tube damper rings, would that help calming down possible microphonic?
I still consider myself a newbie in tubes, so any hep will be appreciated. Thanks very much.
I was wondering about that myself, but I don't know anything at all about streaming. Do you have a CD player you could run for an extended period of time to see if it pops with that as your source? If it didn't, I would think that would point to the DAC or something else in your streaming chain. |
I believe that @dekay is on to something, a bad seated tube, meaning tube sockets may have a bad joint or same case elsewhere on circuit board, as @atmasphere said pops are not suggesting a microphonic tube but most likely a bad tube or source. Something else that came to my mind is whether these pops are happening with same music or song. |
Hi @immatthewj, I don't own a CD player anymore. It is so 20th century. 😀 I'm inclined to think that the culprit could be something with the preamp or the new tubes. Also @petg60, I'm pretty sure the pops are not happening with the same song. Otherwise, it would be easy to reproduce the problem. |
My experience is that I had a high pitched ringing or a vibration like hum. This was alleviated initially by cooling and reinstalling the tubes. As the tube aged they got worse and we’re replaced. The 2 times I experienced a single pop, it was t preceding a tube failure , but with power tubes. Once the glass envelope failed with a poof and I shut it down. The second was a violent pop that resulted in a blown capacitor and resistor that required Mr Had to repair my amp. That one involved a brand new Gold Lion that he said failed and caused the damage. Good luck with your issue. |
