JeffLebowski
-
Posts
52 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by JeffLebowski
-
-
Hi Kt88 and Happy New Year!
Sorry for the late reply.
Makes total sense about the phono "noise" and as for the rest of the issues, I lifted and reset some of the front tubes and now it is fine as for the "noise" I was hearing. Fido mentioned that simply lifting and resetting can cause the tubes to properly connect and that is what I did and I have to say that I just love this amp.
I really appreciate your reply and concern and I have to say I love your country. When I was 18 I hitchhiked from Helmstedt to Berlin. Saw the Wall when it was there and every German I met was just the coolest.My favourite band in the 80s was also the Scorpions! Of course, that was when Michael Schenker and Uli Jon Roth were part of them.
Anyways...again...thanks. -
On 12/23/2021 at 5:43 PM, 2Bad said:
Finally got to the end of this thread. Thanks to everyone who posted... I found it very informative. Thinking about getting my first integrated tube amp and the PL 400 may just be the ticket.
Would love to combine the 400's with the Cornwall IV's. 😀
You will simply love the sound that the 400 produces. Good luck with your purchase.
Cheers -
Thanks for your reply Erik!
I am new to this all and am slowly gathering information from this forum and others.
The people on this site have been so helpful and friendly to me and I just wish I could give back somehow but I
am a noob.
The amp is simply beautiful. I can't state that enough. I am covering it now when not in use to avoid any sort of dust accumulation and will try to clean as required.
Anyway,
Merry Christmas to you and all others on this thread and elsewhere who have helped me.
And of course, have a Happy and Healthy New Year.Cheers
-
1
-
-
On 12/3/2021 at 9:13 AM, erik2A3 said:
I listened to your recording, and what I heard is very similar to dusty/dirty tube sockets. Loud cracks and pops are in my experience akin to inadequate connections, but I'm familiar with Prima Luna, and can say with confidence that soldering-related issues are, at the very least, not likely. The workmanship on Prima Luna Products, which are wired point-to-point, is among the very best available.
"I doubt it is the actual sockets but anything can happen, if it is just the female part of the socket you can use small jeweler screw drivers or better a dental or mechanics pick and re-tension the sockets to fit tight again. You can also have a bad solder connection to the tube sockets that after removing and installing has altered the connection."
I'm sorry, but............. ATTENTION!
I have seen instances here on this forum over the past 20 years (which is when I became a member), where people with very little or absolutely no experience working with high voltage circuits have been badly shocked by either poking around inside an energized amp in order to move wires around, soldering in a live amp (an alarmingly ignorant thing to do -- even for an experienced technician, etc.
I agree that tightening the female socket pins with a dental pick or similar tool might help. HOWEVER (sorry for the all-caps, but it's necessary). There is a structure in a tube referred to as the plate or anode. That is where the high voltage on a tube resides. If one happens to be using a conductive tool for pin re-tensioning, even if the component is turned off, this represents a seriously dangerous safety hazard. I've been working-on and building tube equipment for a long time, and must confess to have made stupid mistakes -- simply from being in a rush, or too confident (Lots of that here on the forum)...or careless, or whatever.
I've said this over and over again here: EVEN IF A COMPONENT IS TURNED OFF AND UNPLUGGED IT IS STILL POSSIBLE TO RECEIVE A POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING ELECTRICAL SHOCK FROM THE CHARGE STORED IN POWER SUPPLY FILTER CAPACITORS. IF THE POWER SUPPLY DOES NOT MAKE USE OF A BLEEDER RESISTOR ON ITS OUTPUT, WHICH WILL ALLOW CAPACITORS TO GRADUALLY RELEASE THEIR CHARGE, ONE PUTS ONESELF AT SERIOUS RISK FOR ELECTROCUTION.
There is another way to quickly bleed down capacitors before doing any work, however I'm just going to leave out the details of that. Leave the work to someone who knows how to work on this stuff.
So, what CAN be done in this case? With the amplifier off, try removing and reinserting each tube in its socket a few times. If the sockets have exposure to normal house dust (if they are covered or shielded), simple dirt can very often cause some of that gritty, scratchy sound in your recording. This is a problem I have frequently, despite lots of dusting, and it can help.
If you have hum, that involves some extra investigation, and often depends of whether the frequency of the hum is 120Hz or 60Hz.
Hoping you solve this problem, although my main concern here was not so much the noise you have, but rather wanting to once again highlight the importance of safety when working on this stuff. Passive crossovers are totally different animal.
I remember once, many years ago here, when one very confident member called another equally confident member a CHICKEN (good grief) for not being willing to solder inside a tube amp while it was plugged in and powered on. The story ends with the member who owned the amp and wanted to work on it returning to the forum to share how he had gotten an absolutely enormous zap when his soldering iron accidentally touched one end of what happened to be a..... plate-load resistor.
Be Careful.
Hi Erik,
Thanks for your replies.
I did remove the tubes and re-insert and the noise is now gone.
I am not sure what was going on with it but I think it is fine now.
All the best and I really appreciate your care and concern.
Cheers
-
1
-
-
21 hours ago, RandyH said:
ok , Jeff so step 2 , do you have other tubes on hand , if you do , try them , are the tubes also loose in the socket , if yes , then you have bad sockets , and they should be replaced on the warranty by Prrimaluna , what happens is the contact area of the tube is too wide inside the socket and tubes are loose , you can bend the contacts with a very small pointy screwdriver , but given the amplifier is under warranty , Primaluna should do the repairs -a sma
-if a second set of tubes are not loose , then you have an issue with the pins of the tubes - either they are bent of pushed inwards , you can straighten or widen very gently for a better contact -
Thanks Randy,
I unfortunately don't have any other tubes. I did look at the pins and they seem to be straight and normal looking.
Will try to get help thru the dealer.
All the best.
Take Care
-
3 hours ago, RandyH said:
-you can order new sockets from Primaluna under the warranty and have a Primaluna tech replace the loose sockets -
2)- Remove the tubes. ckeck to see if the pins of the tubes are bent , if they are bent , straighten the pins VERY gently
3)- purchase some DeOxit ( red and black can ) and apply a LITTLE AMOUNT to the socket contacts and work the tube in and out till you feel it grab Isopropyl alcohol can do as well , but DeOxit is best here -
Thanks for your help. But, the sockets are not in fact loose. I thought they were at first because the tubes in the sockets were moving so freely that I thought the sockets were the cause. The tubes are the item that are loose. Thanks
Take Care
-
3 hours ago, jcn3 said:
@JeffLebowski seems like you should change your title to something like "correction: pl evo 400 sockets not loose". current title implies something is wrong with the sockets.
I will do that right now.
I really don't want to harm PL's reputation at all. Despite the bumps I am having, I am floored by the amp.
Just in awe of the sound it produces.
Thanks
-
Loose SocketsCorrection/Loose Tubes in Sockets on PL EVO 400 IntegratedHey Guys,
Thanks again for all the help guys with my noise thread.
I want to re-state something I said earlier which was entirely wrong.
Being new to tubes, I stated that 3 of the front tube sockets were loose. They are not loose, but rather the tubes are loose fitting in the sockets. I thought it was the socket moving but it is the tubes easily moving when I wiggle the tops of them.
I do feel the appropriate amount of shame.
But is it normal to have loose tubes? The rest are pretty solid up front and the power tubes are in there like cement.
BTW, the front tubes are in the sockets all the way.
Here is a 12 second video of the loose tubes:
Dropbox - Valve Movement.MOV - Simplify your life
Cheers and again, I am sorry I stated the wrong thing. -
Thanks again for all the help guys.
I want to re-state something I said earlier which was entirely wrong.
Being new to tubes, I stated that 3 of the front tube sockets were loose. They are not loose, but rather the tubes are loose fitting in the sockets. I thought it was the socket moving but it is the tubes easily moving when I wiggle the tops of them.
I do feel the appropriate amount of shame.
But is it normal to have loose tubes? The rest are pretty solid up front and the power tubes are in there like cement.
BTW, the front tubes are in the sockets all the way.
Here is a 12 second video of the loose tubes:
Dropbox - Valve Movement.MOV - Simplify your life
Cheers and again, I am sorry I stated the wrong thing.-
1
-
-
On 11/10/2021 at 9:44 AM, Fido said:
Sounds like a bad preamp tube to me. Most likely one of the two center preamp tubes.
So, finally had time today to do a re-arranging of tubes.
What I did was move the two preamp tubes in the middle (Number 11 and 12 or 3/4 to make it easier) to the right channel sockets 13/14 (5/6).
The rattling, crackling sound went away and it isn't dead quiet like before but there is a real negligible hum.
Please help me with this if you could....guys....we have two pre-amp (gain) tubes in the centre slots and two driver tubes on each side of those pre-amp tubes.What would cause noise in the first place?
Could a faulty driver tube cause it? Only a faulty pre-amp tube? (not looking at the power tubes)
Or, could any/all of them cause it?
If it is the two centre tubes only then I guess I should put them back switching the positions they were in. Left to right and right to left as the noise was mostly from the left channel.
To add to it, when I was about to do the swap, I gently grabbed the tops of all the tubes(driver included) and made sure they were set in place and discovered that the 9 and 10 sockets were definitely loose and the 13 was slightly loose. The rest were totally solid.
Confused in Canada lol.
Again, thanks for all the help here guys.
Any suggestions welcome.
I just want to fix this and move on and listen to my records and stream music.
Cheers
-
-
Hey Guys,
So, on the weekend my amp started to make a sound when the volume button was turned down to zero and it was present on all the different AUX inputs.
What does this sound like to you? The amp/tubes? Electrical Line issues?
At the 28 second mark, I turn off the amp and you hear the lovely crackling sounds of the tubes lol.
Thanks so much,
Cheers
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0dwdb6veo5mmafr/New Recording 12.mp3?dl=0
-
Hey Guys,
So, I was documenting that I had a phono-stage issue with a "snowy" sound when I turned the volume up to noon on the dial and nothing playing. (this was a very minute sound but audible)
So, I imagine it is the phono-stage causing it or the cable etc.
But, now, after a month of having the EVO 400i, the channel that was clean and free of "noise" had tube noise with the volume knob not even turned up.
It seems to have subsided today but it is not entirely clear.
Does this happen the odd time because of our electrical connections?
Have you had this just arise like me .... no noise on my channel for my streamer and now it is there?
Thanks
-
Heard good things about the Willsenton R8 as well.
Many YouTube reviews on it.
And the price...amazing price.
Good Luck
-
Hi Fido,
Sorry, I couldn't get onto the site for a few days.
I have pretty much switched out everything possible to determine the fault and it is the pre-amp.
I don't hear the noise when I am playing music so I am ok with it.
I just was testing the EVO to make sure it was not faulty in any way.
Brimar is now on my list for tube swapping.
🙂
-
Hey
Let us know how the Brimar tubes sound there.
Just to clarify, I am not playing music and hearing the snowy sound. I don't hear anything when music is on...just if I turn the volume dial up with nothing playing. -
Hi, I did try two other AUX channels and they are the same.
The fact that it is only the phonostage and not my Bluesound I am wondering if the Pro-Ject Tube Box S is causing the grief. I did remove the tubes and cleaned them and tried again and to be honest, I think the static sound has reduced at the 1100 to 1300 volume setting. But, when I turn the volume all the way up, there is an obvious snow/static sound and this doesn't happen with the streamer.
-
I will try that when the tubes cool down!
Thanks for the suggestion.
Will let you know.
Thanks Fido.
-
Thanks guys!!
BTW, should have mentioned that I am using two aux channels. One for my Pro-Ject Tube Box-S phonostage and the other for my BlueSound Node 2i. The Node is totally silent but the Tube-Box has a snowy static sound at the 11:00 and upward volume level.
Take Care
-
Hey Guys,
Finally, after a year and a bit of researching and saving, I have the PL EVO 400 Integrated as part of my "family".
It is my first tube amp and I learned a lot from you guys here on this forum and in this thread and I am very appreciative of that and also Fido and Taylor have just really, really helped me out with all of this stuff....thanks so much.
Now, from the minute I played a song, I was deeply immersed in the sound that was hitting me.
I heard sounds I never ever did before with my old amp. (This is my first ever tube amplifier)
Every instrument was just right there in front of me and literally, the soundstage produced a live experience.
One night, I wanted to just play two songs and go to bed at a good time and not 1am in the morning as per usual these days...anyways, it was after 3 when I packed it in as I just couldn't stop listening.
Now, as a tube noob...if someone could post an instructional video on how you change out the tubes and/or straighten them in their sockets when new...that would be great. 😉
And, a question about stuff I have read here. I know people have said they might have had "noise" coming from the tubes...some say their tubes are "dead quiet"....what does that mean? I have always wondered if it means that when the volume is at zero are you hearing "noise"? Or does it mean when you turn up the volume and play a song it sounds noisy?
When my new amp is on but the volume is at zero, there is no sound....but if I turn on my phonostage and turn up the volume with no record playing, I hear a snowy sound around 11:00 on the volume dial. Is that normal then?
I know, I know...I don't usually obsess about stuff like this but I love this amp and want it to be perfect....
Cheers and Take Care -
Awesome! Congrats and enjoy.
I am glad that after all you went through, it all worked out.
Take Care-
1
-
-
I use the Bluesound Node 2i as well with Tidal and to me, the sound is just so good. I don't think I notice any differences with MQA songs.
-
Hi Fido,
Sorry if you have mentioned this already but curious to know if you have used the K120's? And if so, how they compare to the 150's?
Again, I apologize if you have mentioned this previously.
Thanks
-
On 2/18/2021 at 12:36 PM, Fido said:
I have a Primaluna evo 400 and i have started playing with Tube Rolling with it. I started out with the stock EL34 tubes and it sounded great. I had those in for over a year and I then tried a couple of Brimar preamp tubes and I liked the difference they made. A few months later my wife bought me 8 new KT150s and to my ears in my system I loved the change to the 150s over the el34s. Much more punchy mid bass and top end very clean. Having changed my Forte 1s to the new Forte IVs the mid base and mid range is just so much more dynamic at every level. I do not think I will ever go back to the EL 34s or get rid of the Brimars
WHAT A WIFE!
Congrats!
Primaluna evo 400 Integrated Amp?
in Talkin' Tubes
Posted
I have the 400 with PSB Imagine T2 Towers and before getting the PL, I had to use a Sub and now, man,
I almost have too much bass lol. If you find the warmer preamp fix that is great. Also, if you go to the KT series of tubes, you will find maybe what you want.
Take care