Tube amp + speakers: after a while, sound begins to cut out regularly, Was: Sound blips (TOS #6) Options

[MrCogline]

Hey guys iv'e got my tube amp and everything set up but i have this problem!

There is a weird sound blip that goes on my speakers it's like the sound stops for half a second then resumes and does this again 3 secs later on both my speakers so it's like pulsing between the two, is it the tubes becomes it doesn't do this when you first turn on the amp.

[Apesbrain]

When the music "blips" does it pick back up exactly where it left off or a half-second worth of music later? The former would indicate a problem with your music source, e.g. CD/MP3 player or computer.

If it is the latter, then what you are describing sounds like a protective circuit in the electronics activating. This happens so the user is warned of a potentially fatal problem before the gear or anything attached to it self-destructs. It could be an electrical (short) or thermal (overheating) fault. Since it starts "blipping" after the gear has warmed up, that hints at a thermal problem. Do you have the tube equipment in a place where it receives adequate ventilation? For example, it should not be in a small, closed cabinet. What is the ambient temperature in the room where the equipment is located?

Given your unfamiliarity with equipment like this, however, it is likely that something is wired improperly creating a short. Can you post close-up photos of the back of all pieces including the speakers showing how you currently have them connected? Post a picture of each of the connecting cables.

It may also be that one or more of the tubes or other electronic components are not operating properly or within their normal electrical range. Something may have been damaged or misaligned during shipping or someone removed the tubes and did not put them back in their correct places. This is best left to a professional to diagnose and repair.

Your problem may in fact be with your power source. How are the pre-amp and power-amp connected to mains power? How many power strips are in the circuit? Try connecting these components directly to the wall outlet. If this is already the case, try another wall outlet.

Lastly, you can always attempt to contact the company or you may find some knowlegeable owners in this forum. Better yet, find someone locally who knows something about equipment like this and offer them a few Guinness to come over and help you.

Avoid operating the system until you have some suggestions on how to correct this problem or until you take it for service. Reasonable people can disagree over whether $5000+ worth of tube gear sounds any better than a $150 solid state receiver but you can't deny it costs a lot more to repair the former if it blows up.