Hi all, thought I might add this thread although I'm sure my 300B is shot ( looking for another single in sale section ).
3 years in and not a great deal of use on my Audionote kit1, one valve started flashing blue wildly, I contacted Amtrans in Japan where purchased, asking for help and advice, they certainly played the language game and just came back with an unhelpful '' They only have a 1 year warranty '' ( I know )
. I tried again and asked if they have used singles available only to get the generalised generic answer '' no we don't ''.
I feel I have just been unlucky and have just got a dud, one does hope for more than 3 years use, the other one tests out at approx 90% good, but if anyone has an idea if I can rescue the dud I'm all open.. they are not cheap( on my valve tester, the heater is not showing heat at 5V, but does work as voltage is increased, then shorts/blue flashes as full test comes in )
Many thanks, Sean.
3 years in and not a great deal of use on my Audionote kit1, one valve started flashing blue wildly, I contacted Amtrans in Japan where purchased, asking for help and advice, they certainly played the language game and just came back with an unhelpful '' They only have a 1 year warranty '' ( I know )
. I tried again and asked if they have used singles available only to get the generalised generic answer '' no we don't ''.I feel I have just been unlucky and have just got a dud, one does hope for more than 3 years use, the other one tests out at approx 90% good, but if anyone has an idea if I can rescue the dud I'm all open.. they are not cheap
( on my valve tester, the heater is not showing heat at 5V, but does work as voltage is increased, then shorts/blue flashes as full test comes in )Many thanks, Sean.
There's no easy fix if that's what you are asking. Would you want to risk the amp with a "rescued" tube anyway?
There no gaurantee a $1000 tube will last any longer than a $100 one. It's just the nature of the tube game. I'd say if you can't stand to replace them every year or two, regardless of use, maybe aim a bit lower on the price scale. Frankly I'm just happy when a tube failure is caught quickly and doesn't damage the amp. I'd rather replace tubes and maybe some passives vs. transformers generally speaking.
There no gaurantee a $1000 tube will last any longer than a $100 one. It's just the nature of the tube game. I'd say if you can't stand to replace them every year or two, regardless of use, maybe aim a bit lower on the price scale. Frankly I'm just happy when a tube failure is caught quickly and doesn't damage the amp. I'd rather replace tubes and maybe some passives vs. transformers generally speaking.
Actually, Emission Labs has a five year guarantee on their 300B tubes. I have been using the EML 320B XLS for a couple of year already and the build quality is superb and the sound beautiful. A pair of EML 300B with the five year guarantee is US$570 at today's exchange rate.
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The EML 300B is a great choice as is the JJ 300B for a little less money.
I'm seriously assuming you will just replace the tubes and not sell the AN Kit1.
BTW I got more than 5000 hours of trouble free service over 10 years out of a pair of JJ 300B and they are now sitting on a shelf still good as spares for my soon to be completed 300B mid/tweeter amps.
I'm seriously assuming you will just replace the tubes and not sell the AN Kit1.
BTW I got more than 5000 hours of trouble free service over 10 years out of a pair of JJ 300B and they are now sitting on a shelf still good as spares for my soon to be completed 300B mid/tweeter amps.
i am currently building a 2A3 set that can make use of the JJ2A3-40, but can also use the traditional 2A3's at lower voltages, by just changing taps on the power traffo...
i once had a Takatsuki pair of 300b's on my bench when the owner brought an Antique sound lab set, when i learned about the price, i quickly called the owner to pick those up, while i was repairing the amp, and asked for the cheaper tubes instead..
i am converting that amp to cathode resistor bias, so that he can swap tubes easily without need for rebiasing...
the owner of the ASL also had an audio note kit 1 amp, and it is cathode resistor biased..
i have heard stories about 300b's red plating, and i did not believe until i saw it on the ASL amp...
no sad stories so far with the 2A3's...
so yes, just get another pair of tubes and plug it in and enjoy...
i once had a Takatsuki pair of 300b's on my bench when the owner brought an Antique sound lab set, when i learned about the price, i quickly called the owner to pick those up, while i was repairing the amp, and asked for the cheaper tubes instead..
i am converting that amp to cathode resistor bias, so that he can swap tubes easily without need for rebiasing...
the owner of the ASL also had an audio note kit 1 amp, and it is cathode resistor biased..
i have heard stories about 300b's red plating, and i did not believe until i saw it on the ASL amp...
no sad stories so far with the 2A3's...
so yes, just get another pair of tubes and plug it in and enjoy...
I have 300B SET for 17-18 years already (I listen about 3-4 hours a day, average)
Now it's just second pair of great NOS =C= 300B in my amp all this time.
I've never had any problems.
I always turn-ON all my tube gear very slow, with a 2.5KVA "Siemens" Medical variable power transformer.
Now it's just second pair of great NOS =C= 300B in my amp all this time.
I've never had any problems.
I always turn-ON all my tube gear very slow, with a 2.5KVA "Siemens" Medical variable power transformer.
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EML will not warranty their tubes if you've made your own "unapproved" DC supply. Low dropout regulators seem to be a pretty big target based on what's written in the warranty, which of course is how I've heated most of the DHTs I've used in the last decade.
They also do not warranty tubes used in amps with paper caps (can't disagree with that).
They also do not warranty tubes used in amps with paper caps (can't disagree with that).
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