2. amps-preamps
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Cary SLI-80 Tube amp suddenly blowing fuses

Very strange problem. Everything works and plays fine, however, the past 2 days I have blown the ac fuse (3 amp slow blow 250v) twice now! The bizarre thing is that it only blows when the Cary is in a resting state ~ for an hour or two. When I am playing music, everything is fine! Strange. Could it be random power line surges? Do you think it is a deeper problem within the 6 month old Cary? Should I swap out the power cord?

Thanks,

Jason
jfiluk
jburidan
803 posts
 
Jason:

Which power tubes are you using? The fuse blew on my SLI-80 once due to a bad tube. What's the bias value? BTW: There's no resting state for a tube amp. Once warmed up, mine draws a steady 215 watts whether playing or idling. It's called a resistive load.

Good luck,
Jay
jfiluk OP
8 posts
 
Ok I just rechecked the BIAS. I had it set to 175mV instead of 75mV. Heh heh. Hope I didnt wear down the new tubes too much.

Could that have been the problem? Keep in mind it was the AC fuse that blew, not the tube fuse.

Thanks,

Jason
danlib1
819 posts
 
Jason-

In talking with Cary regarding biasing that amp, they gave me some advice that I found was very useful.

If your system leans toward the bright side of things, bias higher than 75. I experimented and found mine sounds best biased at about 90 to 92. You can bias that unit at up to 105 or so and never worry. 175 however, is definitely out of the park!

You may want to experiment sometime.

Enjoy that lovely and incredible amp. I love mine!
rbc
18 posts
 
I had blowned the ac fuse on my Jolida amp once. I checked the bias setting and there's no problem, think it's more a bad tube. I have replaced the tube and it's doing well now.
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