crappyjones123

yes, i finally have some kind of indication that i am not completely insane. the problem with the left channel is consistent now. 4th time i have turned on the amp and it has given me the bloop sound followed by either silence or noise in the left channel ONLY. no longer going to use the amp unless i can show it to someone who can open it up and troubleshoot it. the problem occurs in the left channel only. i tried a tung-sol 6sn7 tube with ge 5998s and all filaments in all 3 tubes were glowing just as that "bloop" happened. only this time instead of the left channel just producing no sound at all, produced that plastic bag in the wind kinda sound that i mentioned in my very first post. i tested that particular tube before i put it in the amp and it read ~80 on the heathkit tester (well into the "good" region). i may or may not be correct in this assumption but i have come to think that the problem is most certainly with the amp and not the tubes since its always just the left channel with *any* tube and it happens about the same amount of time after i turn on the amp (roughly 5 minutes if even that). one similarity between what i just heard now and what i heard when i first had this problem was that the plastic bag rustling sound either grew louder or seemed to be getting closer to my ear with time. i wasnt able to tell the difference. now that i know that there is a consistent problem, i wouldnt mind having any local people having a listen to the amp anytime after the 8th (my last final). i can bring it over anytime/anyday after the 8th. just didnt want to have someone listen to the amp when it intermittently sounded fine and conclude i was making this all up. ps. with the 2c51 tubes, the sound just goes away after the bloop. with the 6sn7 tubes the plastic bag sound comes in right after the bloop and keeps getting louder with time.

can i have an office in the team? cj for pres in the next elections.

nate, i will try to look again tonight. im using a 2c51 tube and they are small enough as is, the filament is very hard to see. ill try with the lights turned off later. too much light in my room right now. i tried listening to the amp earlier today on two separate occasions. both times about 5 minutes into the first song, the left channel doesnt dim and then then die out...it just goes away after a little "bloop" sound. the right channel goes strong as ever but no sound out of the left channel after that "bloop" sound. i will check the filament later and report on it.

headroom beta 22s? who doesnt want a beta?

wonder how much shit im going to get for this post...*flame suit on* so upon dan's most valuable of advice, i stole the $30 dvd player from downstairs and tried it as a source to the extreme. lets just say that i didnt actually hear any static that im guessing the laptop was introducing. no annoying high pitched whiny noises. no plastic bag noises so far. bass was MUCH leaner. lacking tightness but much leaner. MUCH more detailed sound. highs were a problem with me but that i think is the source's fault. very very warm inviting sound otherwise. HOWEVER, after about 3 minutes of use, there was absolutely no sound in the left channel. my roommate was listening to something and he complained that the sound in the left channel slowly just died out. the volume just kept dipping until you could hear it no more. i turned off the amp for about an hour and then tried it once more before going to bed, and after about 15 minutes both channels were going strong. i tested the initially thought to be dead tubes with a heathkit tc-2 tester and they all read very well. going to go to oz later during winter break to make sure the old heathkit wasnt lying. i havent come to the conclusion though that there is certainly something off about the amp since now i have at least somewhat reliable confirmation of the tubes being ok. if it were a tube issue, i think reseating tubes or changing their positions would have gotten rid of it but with the no sound thing having happened twice now and the plastic bag sound happened twice ONLY IN THE LEFT CHANNEL makes me doubt all is well inside the amp. ill ask the gentleman at the ee lab to see if he has worked with any tube equipment previously and if he can take a look inside the amp to make sure all the connections are solid and no loose wires are floating around. if he gives me the ok then i guess i can message flecom or someone else who wants to take a crack at troubleshooting this left channel nonsense. the past two hours have made me realise that i will be buying a new source fairly quickly. perhaps i could save all the money i make over the next month and just buy the exemplar 2900 from mike a few weeks from now who knew anything besides a laptop would make the sound so much better /runs away and hides.

i got nothing to sell or buy, but can i get into the exchange of monies program too?

jebus that looks awesome. congrats vicki!

ok, i think ive really screwed things up now - made the queen mad. ill see if mike hasnt been severely ticked off. need to get a hold of dom to get my pcdp back. he still has it from tampa.

HOLY CRAP ITS GENE'S BIRTHDAY!!! woohoo!!! have a great day sir. hope you have countless more to celebrate!

just sold the mullard. hopefully that can cover the cost of the shipping to mikhail if that route is to be taken. i am planning on sending frank a message to see if he can help. dont know if the amp is still under warranty. if it is then id rather just send it to mikhail regardless of how much time it takes. i havent heard of many cases where amps came back unfixed from him.

i apologise if i dont like to take people for granted and have them tote around my gear and do my work for me. while i understand and fully realize that mike had no hidden agenda and offered to take my amp and tubes to troubleshoot with oz, i feel uncomfortable having him do that on my behalf. yes, i should accept kind gestures like his but things would probably be different if i had a different upbringing. i apologise if it makes me seem stubborn and/or stupid, it is just part of who i am. thanks again for everyones help. i will contact mikhail and just let him deal with the amp issues if there really are any. this thread has gone long enough already.

fuck, the noise in the left channel is back with a rca tube now. only difference is it sounds like its riding a sin wave. noise starts building, raises and then calms down. and then starts again. just when i had almost started believing mike in that it might just have been a user error 3 different tubes have caused this now...amp issue or just dead tubes?

none of the tubes were dead quiet from the ones i tried. all of them started exhibiting noise at the 12 o'clock position. the volume knob starts at the 7 o'clock position and ends at the 5 o'clock position. dont know if that says anything.

going to try to find if anyone has any tube testers in the engineering dept. hopefully someone has one. anyone have any helpful remarks? this makes me rather sad

i think the amp is actually killing tubes. the left 5998 tube that i complained of making that loud cracking noise just died. i went back to try the old sylvania tube that i thought had died, but it worked fine. turns out it was the bendix 6080 tube that was in the same socket that died. dont know what to do with this amp now. dont really want to try any more tubes in case there is a problem with the amp. any suggestions? ps. the same plastic bag in the air from a car window sound was being made in the left channel. i dont know what could be wrong now. changed the tubes and the same exact sound was made with a different set of tubes.

arent the el34's used in the bh? i faintly remember mike saying that he was looking for toobies for his amp. dont know if these can be used.

any chance any of those tubes can be used with the sp extreme? most recent paycheck needs to be wasted on things i dont need but want.

need a portable pair of headphones. only to be used with ipod. no amp. go for these on black friday or px 100? planning on using these in school so whichever one leaks less noise will probably be better.

happy bday sir.

nothing really has been resolved regarding the beta. nate, very kindly offered to take a look at the amp gratis. the buyer doesnt want to send the amp for another cross country voyage since that is what seemed to have caused the problem in the first place. he found some local people but im certain they would all charge for their time unlike nate. im going to try to get fedex to pay for the repairs and the back and forth shipping (nate just sent me an invoice for the beta22) instead of the whole cost of the insurace. i think they might be more open to do that. regards the extreme, man is it versatile. or perhaps its the tubes. had a little 30 minute listen this morning before i left for school with a different driver tube and the sound changed immensely. details were not as good and the sound was not so bright but the soundstage was HUGE! quick question, do the 2 power tubes in the back affect the sound much or is it the driver tube doing most of the work?

one of the 5998 tubes just made 2 fairly audible cracking noises. the same sound you would expect the tube to make if the glass cracked the amp had been turned off for roughly 10 minutes. do i turn it on tomorrow and see if the tube died? could that lead to an explosion blowing me and anyone in the house to shreds? should i pull out the tube first, inspect it for any visible cracks and then try to plug it in and use it? how fragile are vacuum tubes - when they are "hot" i guess/have been used for a few hours? could a sudden drop in temperature lead them to crack? sorry for the 20 questions in advance. if there is a sticky i should read or a link that answers all these question or most of them even, kindly pass it along. i kinda jumped into this without doing much reading which admittedly isnt the right way to go about things but im willing to learn.

ah yes i did, turned out it was hiding in the box with the 650s. dont know who put them there just borrowed my dads camera. following pictures came out much crisper than the previous ones. toobes are fun

so far ive been most impressed with the tiny tungsol tube im using with the 2c51 adapter and the ge 5998 tubes. the previous combo of sylvania 6sn7gt and bendix 6080 was sluggish and boring. bass seemed a little less tight and the instrument separation was not as apparent. the energy level of the current combo is a lot higher as well (buddy guy and joe satriani sound like the way they should). however in recordings of concerts, the crowd "noises" seem to be very muffled. with the previous combo, i could hear everyone in the crowd separately. its weird how different tubes sound so different...never woulda thought. im having as much fun as two monkeys in a barrel just playing around with different kinds of tubes. yes i guess these should go under an impressions thread but im too lazy to start one nor do i think i have opinions well formed enough to deserve a new thread. here are a few pictures though. really like the one with the lights turned off and the tubes glowing.

nate, i sent you the pm's that the gentleman sent me on headfi. i forwarded them on headfi to you. just called fedex. they said that they can have the amp picked up, "inspected" and then shipped back to me on their own. i wouldnt have to pay for this option. i dont know how the actual purchase price for the amp is going to be settled. so lets say fedex sends the amp back to me, the guy already paid me (well he paid laine and i dont want him going around doing any paypal nonsense with laine) so am i obligated to pay him back or what. i have a take home test due monday that i need to work on for now but this whole thing is retarded.

apparently the beta isnt working for the guy i sold it to. no sound in the right channel. fedex says that i have to have a receipt of purchase of the amp from a vendor (their policy doesnt cover diy junk) for them to process the claim. since the amp was built by nate (not a big name vendor) i cant produce a receipt. in the very likely event that fedex doesnt give me back the money i insured the amp for, the sp extreme will be back on sale after its very short 5 hour stay with me. this fucking blows.