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WooAudio6 SE owners - does your power component humm?.... - Page 4

post #46 of 298
9/23/08 at 10:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by takezo View Post
surprising considering the SE has two large inductors between the
rectifier and the first caps... but if one or both have failed somehow,
shouldn't he be hearing humming during the pause or even behind
the music?
There is definitely no humming behind the music or at all through the headphones. Then again, sine the white sparks started occurring this evening I have not used the amp, so I don't know if that has changed.
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post #47 of 298
9/23/08 at 10:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by takezo View Post
surprising considering the SE has two large inductors between the
rectifier and the first caps... but if one or both have failed somehow,
shouldn't he be hearing humming during the pause or even behind
the music?

oh right... it could just be a faulty rectifier...
Right a bad rectifier could cause all this. I have had old rectifiers that tested fine but I got some hum then I popped in a new one everything was fine. Sure inductors right after the rectifier should do the job. The best of tubes can fail but didn't someone else state their did the same? Something is getting stressed.
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post #48 of 298
9/23/08 at 10:37pm
if the 274b is faulty then you should hear some deterioration of
the sound quality and even mechanical noise like pinging and
crackling sound from your headphones... that's the sound i got
from my valveart 274b right before it died...
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post #49 of 298
9/23/08 at 11:12pm
Well, sometimes. I had an amp that would eat rectifiers until I did some work on it. It was a Cary Audio 50 watt. Anyway the rectifiers would arc and spark on turn on if they weren't good strong GZ34 Mullards or the like, but once on the amp sounded fine. Eventually the tubes would go bad. I finally figured out (this was years ago) that the first cap was WAY too big and put in a CL90, which limits current at turn on. I then put in an inductor but I guess the point is that the fine rectifiers I ruined sounded good most of their life until they arced to death.
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post #50 of 298
9/24/08 at 3:12am
Thread Starter 
You mention putting in caps and inductors. Could it be the case that Jack has made a mistake on the design of the WA6 SE and it is not suitable to use with the 274B? Or did he perhaps fit the wrong parts to my particular amp? I just find it hard to believe that he has not designed the circuitry properly.

I know that another poster has also reported the white sparks, and the article to which I linked stressed that white sparks were not due to a faulty tube. Sadly, Jack has not responded to my emails on this so far, so IU cannot share his views on this problem.
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post #51 of 298
9/24/08 at 11:24am
FYI - My Sophia also flashes upon startup. It concerns me and I will also contact Woo...
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post #52 of 298
9/24/08 at 11:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by robinje View Post
FYI - My Sophia also flashes upon startup. It concerns me and I will also contact Woo...
Which wa6 do you have? It makes you wonder, now that people with flashing Sophia's coming out of the woodwork, if this tube is truly compatible with the Woo, or it's just bad Sophia QC ?
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post #53 of 298
9/24/08 at 12:01pm
it should be quite easy to discern if the fault is in the amp or the
sophia... just try another rectifier and see if the spark is constant...
preferably another rectifier with a low reservoir requirement like
the 274b, for example the 5r4gy... my guess is that the sophia
princess does not emit these sparks from the beginning but slowly
goes bad with repeated play... chinese and soviet tubes are ok
sounding tubes but are not known to last... my valveart 274b,
a rebranded shuagang tube, lasted only 4 mos. of light playing...
by light playing i mean approx. 10 hrs. per week... if you notice
your amp is killing off tubes left and right within short periods of
time then you can be certain the amp is at fault...

try using the sovtek 5u4g that came along with the woo amps...
it has a fairly low resevoir requirement of 32 uf...

*btw, getting a tube tester is a good investment if you're planning
on keeping your tube amps in good condition and away from
faulty tubes with shorts or vacuum leaks...
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post #54 of 298
9/24/08 at 2:39pm
Thread Starter 
OK. I put in a brand new Sovtek 5AR4 tube today (wow they run much hotter than the Sophia!) and there were no sparks. I inserted the Sophia again and there was the white flash on start-up. I emailed Soiphia Electric and they said:

'Faulty tube can cause the spark and humming. It also can be the amplifier's problem. The Princess 274B mesh plate tube has max current of 90ma. If the amplifier has more than 90ma for the Princess 274B mesh, it will cause the 274B to have white spark and shorten the lifespan for the rectifier.'

The amp still has the very low volume hum so I think it is definitely the transformer. It is very low volume and I can live with that.

I will speak to Jack and make sure he is within the 90ma limits in the email response from Sophia and get the Sophia replaced as it is very likely a faulty one. I also wonder if the premium parts upgrade has made a difference to the compatibility with the Sophia 274B tube.

So, I am hoping that all is well in Wooland again
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post #55 of 298
9/24/08 at 2:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by takezo View Post
it should be quite easy to discern if the fault is in the amp or the
sophia... just try another rectifier and see if the spark is constant...
preferably another rectifier with a low reservoir requirement like
the 274b, for example the 5r4gy... my guess is that the sophia
princess does not emit these sparks from the beginning but slowly
goes bad with repeated play... chinese and soviet tubes are ok
sounding tubes but are not known to last... my valveart 274b,
a rebranded shuagang tube, lasted only 4 mos. of light playing...
by light playing i mean approx. 10 hrs. per week... if you notice
your amp is killing off tubes left and right within short periods of
time then you can be certain the amp is at fault...

try using the sovtek 5u4g that came along with the woo amps...
it has a fairly low resevoir requirement of 32 uf...

*btw, getting a tube tester is a good investment if you're planning
on keeping your tube amps in good condition and away from
faulty tubes with shorts or vacuum leaks...
I did not get the 5u4g when I go the amp - I only go the Sophia.

Simon
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post #56 of 298
9/24/08 at 3:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by atbglenn View Post
Which wa6 do you have? It makes you wonder, now that people with flashing Sophia's coming out of the woodwork, if this tube is truly compatible with the Woo, or it's just bad Sophia QC ?
I've got a maxed out 6SE.
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post #57 of 298
9/24/08 at 3:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sclamb View Post

...I will speak to Jack and make sure he is within the 90ma limits in the email response from Sophia and get the Sophia replaced as it is very likely a faulty one. I also wonder if the premium parts upgrade has made a difference to the compatibility with the Sophia 274B tube....
i'm pretty sure jack will tell you it's within the 90ma spec... that doesn't mean
they made a goof during the build of your amp to unknowingly allow more...
if there is more than 90ma being pulled from the rectifier, then the two 6de7
tubes in front should be glowing redder than normal... and possibly cause a
hum in the headphone too...

i would stay away from the sophia tube for awhile and just use the new
rectifier you got... if you encounter more oddities then alert jack asap and
get that amp looked at... good luck.
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post #58 of 298
9/24/08 at 3:45pm
Thread Starter 
I have asked Jack to confirm that the circuit design of the maxxed 6SE is compatible with the requirements of the Sophia Princess 274B tube.

I hope it is because the difference with this tube over the 5AR4 is very obvious.
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post #59 of 298
9/24/08 at 3:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sclamb View Post
... the difference with this tube over the 5AR4 is very obvious.
can you be more specific of the differences? just very curious...
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post #60 of 298
9/24/08 at 3:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by takezo View Post
i'm pretty sure jack will tell you it's within the 90ma spec... that doesn't mean
they made a goof during the build of your amp to unknowingly allow more...
if there is more than 90ma being pulled from the rectifier, then the two 6de7
tubes in front should be glowing redder than normal... and possibly cause a
hum in the headphone too...

i would stay away from the sophia tube for awhile and just use the new
rectifier you got... if you encounter more oddities then alert jack asap and
get that amp looked at... good luck.
I can't stay away from the Princess - it's too good

I am using it now and whilst there was a white light going up the mesh as it started up, it glows a nice orange colour and it seems to be operating fine. No sparks happened this time. I am asking Jack for a replacement anyway as I am hoping I just got a bad sample. I am using the 6EW7 fat bottle tubes in the other unit and they are not glowing abnormally red, just a nice orange colour, and there is no hum at all in the headphones. When I pause the music and turn the volume all the way to max it is just silence.

Still the low and very slight droning hum, but I can live with that.
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