Michael,
All fair comments I suppose.
Fuses blowing are something totally normal. A burning variac is not normal, but I think it is something that would not have broken my spirit with the gear.
In regards to "ground loop" / hum that I am inferring you and Tubes108 are placing on me (and if my inference is incorrect, then I do apologize), I do disagree with that.
A few steps that I took to disprove the ground loop was my issue:
1. Over the course of 18 months of ownership I placed the amps on 5 different dedicated circuits across two residences.
2. Each time, the amps were either fed a signal from an LA-150 pre-amp, or they were shorted using the appropriate switch on the back to not receive a signal. I even went to extreme ends during a number of late evenings to turning off all other circuits of the house during very late hours in order to make sure that the circuit was not being contaminated at the breaker box. BTW, I did this at both residences that I resided in during that time.
3. There were over 6 source components tried in the system during this 18+ months period. At various points I had everything on one circuit (the Naim approach), and at various times I explored placing components on separate circuits.
4. True to form, the hum could be lessened by putting the amps on less sensitive speaker. It could also be neatly masked by holding down one of the bias buttons. However standing over a warm monoblock with your finger on a small button was not a scalable solution so whenever I listened to folk music or chamber music (that had many quiet points), I would jam a toothpick in the tiny space between the chassis top and one of the bias buttons so the bias button was held down. This was a trick that I learned from one of the other gentleman that I was corresponding with that bought amps from the same era.
My point in all this is to explain that I worked very hard, was very patient, and also very forgiving in trying to get very expensive amps to work the way that they should. In fact, I am the first to admit that my experience was not the norm. However, the experience was shared by other audiophiles, so my challenges were not unique.
So to the other Joule owners out there that are very happy, I say that I wish your experience was the kind that I had. To the prospective Joule buyer, I say that my experience was not a good one, but I hope that you enjoy your amps should you choose to purchase them.
All fair comments I suppose.
Fuses blowing are something totally normal. A burning variac is not normal, but I think it is something that would not have broken my spirit with the gear.
In regards to "ground loop" / hum that I am inferring you and Tubes108 are placing on me (and if my inference is incorrect, then I do apologize), I do disagree with that.
A few steps that I took to disprove the ground loop was my issue:
1. Over the course of 18 months of ownership I placed the amps on 5 different dedicated circuits across two residences.
2. Each time, the amps were either fed a signal from an LA-150 pre-amp, or they were shorted using the appropriate switch on the back to not receive a signal. I even went to extreme ends during a number of late evenings to turning off all other circuits of the house during very late hours in order to make sure that the circuit was not being contaminated at the breaker box. BTW, I did this at both residences that I resided in during that time.
3. There were over 6 source components tried in the system during this 18+ months period. At various points I had everything on one circuit (the Naim approach), and at various times I explored placing components on separate circuits.
4. True to form, the hum could be lessened by putting the amps on less sensitive speaker. It could also be neatly masked by holding down one of the bias buttons. However standing over a warm monoblock with your finger on a small button was not a scalable solution so whenever I listened to folk music or chamber music (that had many quiet points), I would jam a toothpick in the tiny space between the chassis top and one of the bias buttons so the bias button was held down. This was a trick that I learned from one of the other gentleman that I was corresponding with that bought amps from the same era.
My point in all this is to explain that I worked very hard, was very patient, and also very forgiving in trying to get very expensive amps to work the way that they should. In fact, I am the first to admit that my experience was not the norm. However, the experience was shared by other audiophiles, so my challenges were not unique.
So to the other Joule owners out there that are very happy, I say that I wish your experience was the kind that I had. To the prospective Joule buyer, I say that my experience was not a good one, but I hope that you enjoy your amps should you choose to purchase them.