Fireworks in an Audio Research VT200


I turned on my amp the other day and as it was cycling through the start up process, I heard a large pop and then an enormous fireball flew out of the top of it. I immediately unplugged the amp. After taking all the tubes out and visually inspecting everything, I concluded that no tubes were blown. I put it all back together and it sounds great and I have had no problems since. The bias is fine.

Has anybody had experience with this sort of thing?
jmcdermott

Showing 1 response by jwin

Excitement is not uncommon with tube amps. 6550s, KT-88s and especially 6C33Bs can arc across grids and take out other devices in the system. My BAT VK-60s which use 6C33B power tubes have been far less reliable than the ARC Classic 150s I enjoyed for years which used 6550 tubes. In any case it is unwise not to atleast pop the top and look for other damage before changing a blown tube and restaring your system. Sniffing the box for a cooked resister at the very least should be done. The Bats have fuses attached to each power tube and still take out resisters when they blow. I have been advised to only employ UL fuses because they are more precise. Also power amps should be checked out once in a while to ensure that the power supply voltages still meet manufacturers specs. Good luck.
Jeff