Did I blow my tube amp?


So here's the story: I recently received my tube amp and replaced the power tubes. So naturally, I wanted to bias them to make sure they work properly. I've never done any biasing before and checked some youtube videos on biasing. One of the youtube video had a Manley Stingray connected to power, no input signal, and NO speakers connected. I did the same. After the biasing is done, I connected the speakers and input signal, but for some reason so sound came out.

So the question is: did I blow my output transformer? Simply by not connecting the speakers while biasing or just having the amp on for a short while? From what I have read, it should be ok to have no speakers connected as long as there's no input signal.

I had another tube amp before this, and turned it on one time without speakers connected and it worked flawlessly after.

Could you guys shed some knowledge or personal experience on this topic?
vu001

Showing 1 response by dividebytube

Things to check:

1 -Do the tubes still light up? If not, check the fuse.

2 - Check connections - both input and output. We all do silly stuff, like the time I plugged the speaker wires in to the 4-ohm and 8-ohm tap, hence no sound!

3) if you have the amp on - with the speakers plugged in - do you still get a bias reading? If so, that indicates that power is reaching the tubes.

4) I've been messing with tube amps for over 20 years and have never, ever blown an output transformer. There may be something else that went bad inside. If you don't have experience working with high voltage, then have a tech take a look for anything obvious. Luckily most tube amps are fairly easy to troubleshoot.