2. amps-preamps
  3. 1332781820

Cary V12

Hi all ! I have a Cary V12 amp that I have decided to experiment with . After talking with Cary I have decided to try it with most of the output tubes removed.As most of you probably know there are a total of 12 output tubes , 6 per side . Last night I removed 4 tubes per side so I am now running 2 per side . This, in triode mode is about 16 wpc . I re-biased the tubes to 35 ma per tube . Cleaner , more detail and strangely enough , more bass . Was looking for a 15 - 20 wpc tube amp , this makes me re-think that . Btw , I only need 5 - 15 wpc with my 98db speakers .
bradluke0
5 responses Add your response
bradluke0 OP
163 posts
 
Hi all ! I live in south Tampa . I keep the room cool by upgrading the a/c and only running 4 tubes instead of 12 . 238 ma sounds right as 40ma is about the max per tube (6 tubes x 40ma = 240) . Not sure about the cad120 but the v12 you can run 2 , 4 or 6 tubes per side . You cant run odd numbers as they are push pull . I run them in slots 3 and 4 ( middle pair on each side . Dont know what you mean by staggering the tubes , mine has switches to change any PAIR of tubes from triode to UL.For each PAIR of tubes I am running 70 ma .
polk432
1,142 posts
 
What part of Florida do you live in. I had a V12R that you could cook burgers on. Sounded great, but the CAD 120's I have now sounds better and runs lots cooler even though it heats up the room. I hooked it up to the 98P SLP and really love the sound, but how do you keep the room cool? I never knew you could run the amp by removing tubes without hurting it. I used to have the bias set at 238ma. Have you tried running the amp inbetween triode and ultralinear by staggering the tubes?
bradluke0 OP
163 posts
 
Hi all ! No , not trying to be economical just wanted to see how the amp would sound with only 2 tubes per channel instead of 6 . My experience has always been that the lower powered amp of 2 amps (of the same mfr and amp family) sounds better . Again this has proved to be true , probably due to the less output devices . Plus in florida with 12 tubes running ( plus the four tubes in the cd player and the eight tubes in the preamp ) things can get out of control .Lucky over the winter I installed a new a/c system .
mechans
3,048 posts
 
Yah but more power really isn't a big problem because the amp's gain does not increase all that much. Are you just being economical?
ahendler
416 posts
 
I had 100db Lowthers and I used 2w amps all the time with no trouble at all
Alan
Log in to respond
More to discover
80x80
Dan D'Agostino Momentum HD
80x80
Luxman MQ88uC
80x80
Mark Levinson No 433