100 W Tube Amplifier Malfunctioned

@ fuzztone The brand is Von Gaylord Audio, previously Legend Audio, with very good owners’ reviews. I count myself truly unlucky to have encountered two malfunctioned amp from the same manufacturer. :(

@ jjss49 I have already identified the brand , Von Gaylord Audio.
The technician here indicated that the transformer was shot. This was confirmed by the manufacturer. 

@ millercarbon Thanks for your comment. Aside from the damaged transformer I should ask for more specifics. 

Thank you for all your comments. Let’s see how this play out. I’ll update.

@ roxy54 @ joyctoy, I wanted to get unbiased first reactions from folks in the community by not naming names. 

The amp is from Von Gaylord Audio. It’s not the most well known of brands, but owners’ opinions here have always been favorable.  

@ oldhvymec,  I use a Audio Magic Stealth power conditioner. But it is not a surge protector. On two occasions I experienced local power outages while playing the amp. I immediately switched off the amp. 
According to my friend, who is an electrical engineer, voltage here in summer peaks is usually 108 V, and maybe 109  V on cooler months. It rarely reaches 110 V and above. 
@ srereo5  The local technician never worked on the unit.

@ atmasphere Thanks for your input, Ralph! 

I am told if the amp is simply fixed, without changing the VAC, then there’s no guarantee that it wouldn’t malfunction again! The solution is to change the VAC, and the problem will not happen again. 

The reason for buying this new amp, The Nirvana Mono, was because one of the previous amps, The Triode Mono from Von Gaylord, malfunctioned. I sent both amps back to Von Gaylord for repair.  I was told that amps being some twenty years old were beyond repairable and was offered an upgrade. 

Before sending the first pair of amps back, A lot of research was done. And I concluded that I would stick with Von Gaylord if an upgrade was offered. 

Please don’t misunderstand, the  Nirvanas, when operational, were sensational driving the ET LFT 8’s. I was enjoying the amps tremendously. I have only good things to report on the musicality of the amps. 

It’s the email exchanges on the repairs that have really irked me. I really don’t know what caused the malfunction, aside from the hypothesis that it’s electrical power fluctuations on my end. And to get slapped with a $ 1700 price tag for the repairs........

Upon hearing my situation, an audio buddy lent me a pair of tube amps by International Projector Corporation. These are from the 1950’s, licensed by Western Electric, and designed to drive speakers in cinemas. 70 year old amp, 70 year old transformers. They sound amazing!!!

And my 6 month old transformer blew. :) my situation is quite absurd.

 I put in an email to Ray at Von Gaylord two days ago. Basically I would like him simply to fix the amp at his cost. And I don’t want to change to 125v. The change was deemed an ‘upgrade ‘, hence the $850 per amp surcharge. I have not heard from him yet.

To be continued....

@unreivedogma By way of an update, the manufacturer will fix the broken amp for the following as quoted from his email:

"1. Replace Transformer US$500 (Parts and labor)

2. Repair Power Supply US$195

 Check on second amp N/C

 Bias and Balance on both Amps US$125/each."

I will be going ahead with the repair. Mind you, his initial offer to 'upgrade' the power supplies of both amps to 125 v was $1700. And he claimed that if I did not follow through with the 'upgrade' then he cannot be sure if the other amp which was working properly would not fail in the future. In other words, he will not warranty his own product!

I am at a point where I can proclaim definitively, DO NOT BUY VON GAYLORD AUDIO PRODUCTS, EVER!

I will proceed with the amp repair with the proposed $945. However, when I do receive the amps, I will be in a situation of not knowing when the amps will fail again. The manufacturer will not be standing by his product. I will be in a further situation of not being able to resell the amps, as I have made known the poor service quality of the brand!

@roxy54 Thanks!

A bit of an explanation on acquiring the Mactone  I was so dejected with failed amps, and at the time not knowing the cause of the problem. I decided to look for a locally made amp. I live in Taiwan with many small electronic shops serving as OEM for branded US and European audio shops. There are quality electronics to be held, with zero resale value on the international market. While researching local wares, I chanced upon a Mactone with a very low asking price. One other advantage of living in Taiwan is that it is a three hour flight to Tokyo. There are many Japanese audio gear sold here at very reasonable prices. It turns out that the owner bought the Mactone ten years ago direct from Japan and was using it in a second system ( he has hi end Airtight for main rig ). Not many recognize the Mactone brand, and I got it for a steal, complete with box, cage, tubes, and Japanese instruction manual.

Yes, I guess I lucked out on this one.

I am following up with this update and, embarrassingly, an apology. The real culprit to my amp problems turned out to the a malfunctioning power conditioner. The one used throughout my ordeal was a Audio Magic Stealth, a unit bought in the 90’s,  in storage for ten years, and brought back into service 3 years ago. Since two Von Gaylord amps malfunctioned, I put the blame on the Manufacturer. Furthermore, after the VG amp was sent back for repair, I had a loaner tube amp, International Projector Corp am 1026, in service which had performed flawlessly. Well.... the IPS amp also malfunctioned about two months ago.

Someone finally suggested that I look into the power conditioner. When I open the box, alkaline deposits were found adhering to wire connectors, and parts were flacking off. The power conditioner had probably not been maintaining proper voltage for a while. To be clear, I am not pointing fingers at Audio Magic. The alkaline deposits are common occurrences from electronic devices and batteries due to the high humidity of where I live. I believe now that putting expensive audio equipment in storage in high humidity environment is asking for trouble. 

I have a new power conditioner, Puritan Audio PSM 156, and a new amp, Mactone MH 300b for a month. And things are fine. Previously, the Wadia CDP would from time to time turn itself on when in sleep mode. It was again a problem that I did not associate with the power conditioner. The Wadia does not act up anymore.

Von Gaylord fixed the amp for $900. They will return in two weeks. And they will work with the new Mactone to bi -amp the Eminent Technology LFT-8 bs.

I have sorry to place blame on Von Gaylord Audio when the problem really was due to my carelessness. 

@arcticdeth I looked into warranty. If I am still living in the US , and bought there, then warranty applies. However, I now live in Asia, it’s a bit difficult to enforce. Audio brand like Quicksilver specifically void warranty for product sold outside the US. The dealers then handles  it. Since I bought direct from factory, I have no recourse to dealers.

Regarding the ‘ excuse’ all I am trying to clarify is that the amps malfunctioned not due to a defective product, as I previously had claimed. On the loaner ICP amp  which transformer also broke, II offered to pay half the repair cost. My friend accepted.