EL34 in Cary CAD120S bias info needed

Thuan,

It seems like every amp is different, for example, my VTL ST-87 biases at 270mA for each of 4 EL34's.

I spoke to someone (Gerald, I think) at Cary a while back about the biasing of the 120S for EL34's and he said it should stay the same at 140mA if I remember correctly. I would give Cary a call to confirm though as you need to be sure of this.

Let me know how you make out and how the amp sounds with the EL34's. My 120S is on the way back to Cary for service at the moment and I'm using the Wyred 4 Sound ST-500 in the meantime. Have a nice weekend !

Jdec, my 120S has gone back to Cary to address a mechanical hum problem. The folks at Cary say the amp should be quiet, so I sent it to them to have them make it that way. And I figured I'd have them give it a general check over while it is there.

Regarding the Cary 120S vs Wyred ST-500 comparison my first impression is that the Cary is perhaps a bit smoother/sweeter, but that the Wyred is more dynamic, has more power and certainly a bit more control in the bass. But this is a very early impression with very few hours on the Wyred.

In the last few days I've decided that I need the remote control and polarity invert control found on the new Wyred integrated, the STI-500. So I sent the ST-500 back and the STI-500 should be arriving on Monday, Nov 16.

Hopefully I will have the 120S back in the house soon as well. Then I can proceed with my comparisons. It should be interesting (and fun).

Frank :)

Thuan98... that's annoying that the bias resistors have to be changed to try the EL34's but fortunately I like the way mine sounds with the stock EH KT88's. And it doesn't explain why Cary's technical guy told me I could do it without modification and still set the bias at 140mA...

Did he mention that you need to remove 23 screws to remove the bottom cover?