Noob question regarding my new tube amp (336SE)

[dkeen]

Hello! I've been reading for quite some time now, but just now finally registered here. This site is awesome for info.

Anyway, I recently made my first "decent" headphone/amp purchases; I picked up some HD-600s and a new Darkvoice 336SE.

Today, the amp finally came in the mail, and I decided to hook it up right away (with the 600s).

Anyway, after warming it up, I noticed that the smaller of the two tubes is very dim; if it's not completely dark in the room, you can't even tell that it's lit, and even then it's just barely noticeable on the very top and very bottom of the tube. Is this okay? I don't know enough about tube amps to know if some tubes are just much dimmer than others.

It seems to sound pretty good, but with my limited experience I thought I would ask anyhow.

Thanks!

 

[scootermafia]

I think if the sound were terrible then you'd know the tube was dead. You can get a new tung-sol tube to replace it at tubedepot.com for $15 if that were the case. However, it's more likely that it is just a modest glow. My 336SE arrives today so maybe I can tell you how mine is then.

 

[dkeen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scootermafia /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think if the sound were terrible then you'd know the tube was dead. You can get a new tung-sol tube to replace it at tubedepot.com for $15 if that were the case. However, it's more likely that it is just a modest glow. My 336SE arrives today so maybe I can tell you how mine is then.

Thanks, that would be helpful.

I only ask because I have seen pics of other 336SEs in the dark, and it's such a stark difference. Not sure if they were the stock tubes in the pics, however.

 

[atbglenn]

Some tubes glow brightly, others glow dimly. it's totally normal. If the dim tube was weak, the sound would be distorted, and or very noisy. Night time pictures are normally taken with slow shutter speeds that make the tubes look a lot brighter than they do in person

 

[Tridacnid]

^ Yep. Don't worry about it.