have i diagnosed my hum?


Tube newbie here, looking for a bit of common sense in diagnosing a problem.

I have a stock Jolida 302brc that is producing an audible hum at the speakers, with or without any input applied, and regardless of volume level. I've sorted out the grounding issues, and the amp produces the same hum (again, at the speakers, not from the chassis) regardless of where or how it's plugged in. It's very audible from the listening position.

Resolution Audio here in Seattle was kind enough to loan me a pair of EL34 tubes to swap out for a pair of mine, thinking that I've got one or more tubes that are bad. When I made this change, the amp sounded horrible playing music (like a damaged driver; a very 'torn' and distorted sound), but the hum disappeared completely.

I'm assuming that this means that A) yeah, I've got one or several bad output tubes, and that B) the loaner tubes I used were way out of bias during this brief test.

Does replacing my driver tubes seem like a reasonable next step?

Thanks in advance for any comments or advice.
soundgasm

Showing 2 responses by rleff

I would use the tubes the dealer sent you and then install your orginals one at a time and see if you can find the one or ones that cause the hum.
Soundgasm I forgot to ask when you bias your tubes do you see any problem such as not holding bias or blueish glow in the the dark?