New Variac for Joule Electra Amps

Jea- Yes this a purpose-built variac on the Joule amps. Given the heat load that 16 of those 6cc3b tubes put out, there must be a $hitload of juice (that's as technical as I get) of current or voltage or whatever being dissipated by those amps to be able to put out 160 wpc so I would be very cautious about using anything other than Joule-supplied variac.

Outlier- FWIW, did you follow Jud's directions as far as slowly ramping up voltage when you powered up the amps?

Disclaimer- I owned a VZN-80 for several years. Other than that, I have no technical or engineering skills. Bit I did stay at a Holiday Inn ;-).

Outlier- That seems to jibe w my experience w the VZN-80...not the sturdiest construction, that's for sure! Not to denigrate the sound, but no one could Jud of going the 1/2" thick CNC-machined faceplate route ;-)

Outlier- Should have thought to suggest talking to Signature Sound...they have always been heavily involved w Joule (and Merlin) gear. As for build quality, it's not only electrical reliability, but also mechanical that I was concerned with. That is to say that the physical integrity/strength of the casework, I/O jacks/posts, etc, did not seem to be consistent with the sound quality. But that might also have been a function of buying on the used market with unknown # of owners andshipping cycles. Hope you can get the amps up and running soon; winter is their "peak season" ;-)

Great! Good deal, Outlier.