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Bias Meters (Read 424 times)
Alan Arkin
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Bias Meters
05/21/25 at 17:45:48
 
Hi there...

On my Rachael, the bias meters were usually in sync at about 40.  Recently I thought that the left meter was slightly lower than the one on the right.  Now the one on the left is two notches to the left of the 40 and the one on the right is one notch to the left of 40.  Is this a problem?  If so, is it likely the tubes or something else?  Thanks!

-- Alan
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SE34i.5 (With 2nd Anniv. Mods); Aric Custom S6N7 Line Stage; Rega Planar 6 (With Apheta 3 Cart. and Groovetracer Subplatter and Counterweight); Darlington Labs MP-8B and SU-7; Omega Super Alnico High Output XRS; 2 Rel T/5x; Gaia III; 3" Maple Butcher Block Platfor
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CAJames
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Re: Bias Meters
Reply #1 - 05/21/25 at 18:50:52
 
Likely the left power tube is getting weak. This isn't necessarily a problem, yet, but IMO you should try replacing the power tubes with a new (but broken in) pair and compare the sound. If the old ones still sound good you are OK, for now. If not, thank them for their service and dispose of them. If you're going to replace, replace them both.

If you don't have at least one complete set of replacement tubes you should get it for two reasons. One is the best way to tell if a tube needs replacing is to compare it to a known good one. The other is tubes can die at any time so you want to have replacements handy to avoid downtime.

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[FOOBAR2000 | Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia
Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Mapletree Phono 3E
STR-1002 -> Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos
Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Audeze LCD-XC
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Alan Arkin
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Re: Bias Meters
Reply #2 - 05/21/25 at 18:53:13
 
Thanks.  I've got at least 1 spare set if not 2.  Will see what happens.
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SE34i.5 (With 2nd Anniv. Mods); Aric Custom S6N7 Line Stage; Rega Planar 6 (With Apheta 3 Cart. and Groovetracer Subplatter and Counterweight); Darlington Labs MP-8B and SU-7; Omega Super Alnico High Output XRS; 2 Rel T/5x; Gaia III; 3" Maple Butcher Block Platfor
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Kahuna Jack
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Posts: 193
Re: Bias Meters
Reply #3 - 05/25/25 at 00:33:24
 
Quite a few of my matched output tubes read 1 notch above or below one another on both Rachael and ZenUFO amps. In fact I just bought a matched quad of Decware 6p15p's with 2 of the tubes reading 30 the other 2 at 29.
In past my amps have played/sounded fine with this status and I think Steve mentions that at least in the UFO84 they balance each other out internally.
Because I rotate amps and tubes often I have yet to wear out a set of power tubes.
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Alan Arkin
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Re: Bias Meters
Reply #4 - 06/24/25 at 14:17:34
 
Perhaps I am driving myself crazy, but I thought that the KT77s were perhaps creeping downward on the bias meters, so I swapped in my EL34s that I had used.  While I initially thought these fixed the issue, now I am not so sure.  The bias meters seem almost equally between 20 and 40.  Is this too low?  If it wasn't the tubes, what could it be?
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SE34i.5 (With 2nd Anniv. Mods); Aric Custom S6N7 Line Stage; Rega Planar 6 (With Apheta 3 Cart. and Groovetracer Subplatter and Counterweight); Darlington Labs MP-8B and SU-7; Omega Super Alnico High Output XRS; 2 Rel T/5x; Gaia III; 3" Maple Butcher Block Platfor
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Alan Arkin
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Re: Bias Meters
Reply #5 - 06/24/25 at 15:47:55
 
This is how the bias meters look with the EL34s now.  
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IMG_1726.jpeg

SE34i.5 (With 2nd Anniv. Mods); Aric Custom S6N7 Line Stage; Rega Planar 6 (With Apheta 3 Cart. and Groovetracer Subplatter and Counterweight); Darlington Labs MP-8B and SU-7; Omega Super Alnico High Output XRS; 2 Rel T/5x; Gaia III; 3" Maple Butcher Block Platfor
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CAJames
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Re: Bias Meters
Reply #6 - 06/24/25 at 19:06:18
 
Quote:
Posted by: Alan Arkin      Posted on: Today at 06:17:34

...The bias meters seem almost equally between 20 and 40.  Is this too low?


How does it sound? That is more important than what the meters say IMO.
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[FOOBAR2000 | Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia
Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Mapletree Phono 3E
STR-1002 -> Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos
Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Audeze LCD-XC
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Lon
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Re: Bias Meters
Reply #7 - 06/24/25 at 19:53:52
 
I know for the Taboo Mk IV when I had it I was told that as long as the tubes were generally 30 or above on the meters they were good.

James is right, how they sound is likely the best indicator of their health. In these instances I put a new pair in and compare the sound with the previous pair. It's easy to evaluate.
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HR-1,ZBIT,ZROCK3,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod; Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD, DAC Mk II, P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls, Reference spkrcbls; Mapleshade SamsonV3; VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects;Stack EQ; headphones: Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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Alan Arkin
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Posts: 38
Re: Bias Meters
Reply #8 - 06/25/25 at 13:02:58
 
I am surprised it didn't occur to me yesterday but I believe the gauges were lower than usual because the voltage was substantially reduced in my neighborhood due to the heat wave in New York City.  Our lights were much dimmer yesterday than normal and I ultimately wound up disconnecting my system.
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SE34i.5 (With 2nd Anniv. Mods); Aric Custom S6N7 Line Stage; Rega Planar 6 (With Apheta 3 Cart. and Groovetracer Subplatter and Counterweight); Darlington Labs MP-8B and SU-7; Omega Super Alnico High Output XRS; 2 Rel T/5x; Gaia III; 3" Maple Butcher Block Platfor
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Lon
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"Love without
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Posts: 26085
Re: Bias Meters
Reply #9 - 06/25/25 at 15:43:26
 
Well, hopefully nothing to worry about after the power uptick has ended.
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HR-1,ZBIT,ZROCK3,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod; Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD, DAC Mk II, P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls, Reference spkrcbls; Mapleshade SamsonV3; VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects;Stack EQ; headphones: Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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Kahuna Jack
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Posts: 193
Re: Bias Meters
Reply #10 - 06/26/25 at 02:24:38
 
Try swapping in a new set of el34's ??  and toss in different input tubes also as I think they also affect the meter readings????
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Alan Arkin
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Posts: 38
Re: Bias Meters
Reply #11 - 06/26/25 at 13:14:52
 
It was caused by two days of cut voltage by Con Edison in NYC due to the heat wave.  At first, they had cut the voltage by 8% and by yesterday the voltage was cut so significantly that our lights were dim and our central AC stopped working.  It also caused a weird pulsing sound out of my speakers.  Eventually I disconnected my system and rode it out.  Weird stuff.
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SE34i.5 (With 2nd Anniv. Mods); Aric Custom S6N7 Line Stage; Rega Planar 6 (With Apheta 3 Cart. and Groovetracer Subplatter and Counterweight); Darlington Labs MP-8B and SU-7; Omega Super Alnico High Output XRS; 2 Rel T/5x; Gaia III; 3" Maple Butcher Block Platfor
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