When do you know when your tubes are going bad


I have a Music Reference RM-9 110W Dual Amplifier. It has been sitting in a box for a few years and dug it out tonight. My left channel is only running at about 10% as my right. I balanced the driver and tried to even out the bias but I am still getting a pulsation on the left with the bias maxed out. Should I change out my input tubes, output tubes, or put it back in th box? I really don't know much about tuning the amp but I know it was working fine when I boxed it. Any help would be appreciated.
drjay08

Showing 1 response by stonedeaf

If it's been sitting for years unpowered/unused - the first thing i would suspect is that a electrolytic cap(s) has gone bad.But you know - everyone's telling you to test the tubes for a good reason - cheap-easy - and real easy to fix if some tubes have gone bad - hope that's it.Unfortunatly tubes don't tend to go bad in storage (hence NOS tube prices)-electrolytics will last longer in use than they will in storage (hence no NOS electrolytic capacitors at any price).
Very carefully -and don't touch anything (serious electric shock hazard -even if not plugged into AC power) - take the covers off and using a good flashlight - inspect the base and ends of the capacitors.If any of them are bulged and especially if leaking - they've gone bad and need to be replaced.