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Tube amp question

I am a novice tube amp owner. I have had my Black Ice Audio Fusion F22 for not quite a year. I want to understand plate voltage and how it impacts tubes or vice versa. I want to roll the tubes to the KT150's which Black Ice has said can be used without issue. The plate voltage of the amp is 500v. In other posts, someone said that KT150's require a minimum of 600v at the plate. Since Black Ice says their amp can use them, does this rating depend on the circuit? I have some basic understanding of electronic circuits and I googled plate voltage but I'm still not clear on what it is exactly. Can someone knowledgeable with tube amps help me understand this? Thanks!

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Showing 3 responses by russ69

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 

If that's the case then why does Black Ice indicate they will work?

Because they will "work". You just might not get all the power that tube can produce.

 

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 

I'm not expert but I think if you run the KT150s at the 6550 milliamp setting you may not be getting everything out of that tube, power wise. It will still work and last a long time but you perhaps will not get the benefit of higher power. Somebody smart will come on line and post the accurate details....

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 

best performance and sound quality will be had with the EL34 or 6550 tubes, that no extra wattage will be achieved since the transformers are the limiting factor.

As I suspected. 

I biased them at 50mv per the manufacturer spec. I slowly raised the volume and after about 10 seconds the amp shutdown in protection mode.

Even biased at 50mv, it sounds like they are drawing to much current for the transformers to supply. Stay with EL-34s, 6550s or KT88s. 

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