[neep]

Just purchased a pair of these mono's on Audiogon. The seller says:

"These were purchased by the previous owner directly from Vinnie Rossi a number of months ago.  New batteries were installed 9 months ago and have less than 150 hours on them."

I'm assuming they've been looked over recently as the seller said but I couldn't be sure. They had Amperex 7308 Gold Pin's installed but I swapped them out for the stock JJ's because the JJ's smoked them in my system. With both sets of tubes, the image is slightly shifted left and it almost sounds like I'm getting the reversed polarity effect when listening. It's just not stable in the middle like other amps have been. I don't know how else to explain it.

System goes like this:

Squeezebox Touch > Wyred 4 Sound Remedy > Chord Hugo > Rogue Audio Perseus Tube Preamp > Red Wine Audio Sig 70.2 > Harbeth Super SL-5's

Any advice?

[CSI]

Start with basic trouble shooting.

First: Reverse the speaker leads on one channel (only) and see if the phasiness goes away (turn off the amp first).
Second: Try operating in the "Charge" mode vs. the battery mode to see if this effects the sound.
Third: Change channels from the preamp. See if the shift to the left goes to the right.
Fourth: Try a different preamp (borrow one or use a source with it's own volume control)
Fifth: If the problem isn't with the preamp or hookup try swapping the tubes left to right. I know you have tried different tube sets but this might be worth a try.
Finally: If all else fails contact Vinnie Rossi. I know he isn't doing RWA anymore but he was always very supportive with my various Red Wine components over the years. You may have to be a little patient but I bet he will respond. As a last resort, he may suggest you send them to him to check out. That could cost you but it may be the only way to get it all sorted out.

Good luck.

[Blu99Zoomer]

neep,

I think you got some good advice from CSI.  How did the troubleshooting go?

Best Regards,

Blu99Zoomer

[Vinnie R.]

Just purchased a pair of these mono's on Audiogon. The seller says:

"These were purchased by the previous owner directly from Vinnie Rossi a number of months ago.  New batteries were installed 9 months ago and have less than 150 hours on them."

I'm assuming they've been looked over recently as the seller said but I couldn't be sure. They had Amperex 7308 Gold Pin's installed but I swapped them out for the stock JJ's because the JJ's smoked them in my system. With both sets of tubes, the image is slightly shifted left and it almost sounds like I'm getting the reversed polarity effect when listening. It's just not stable in the middle like other amps have been. I don't know how else to explain it.

System goes like this:

Squeezebox Touch > Wyred 4 Sound Remedy > Chord Hugo > Rogue Audio Perseus Tube Preamp > Red Wine Audio Sig 70.2 > Harbeth Super SL-5's

Any advice?

Hi CSI,

Thanks for your post!


Hi neep,

Did the seller buy these from RWA together as a pair?  Or were they from separate transactions.  It is possible that one has the gain set to 24dB, and the other to 30dB.  During the 70.2 days, I did offer our customers with a certain level of customization upon request for things such as gain, absolute phase, etc.  Could be that the seller was not aware of this? 

"These were purchased by the previous owner directly from Vinnie Rossi a number of months ago.  New batteries were installed 9 months ago and have less than 150 hours on them."

If they were only sent in for battery replacement, I probably changed the packs and confirmed they work - but did not listening and check the gain (unless the previous owner asked me about it).  And if they were not used for 9 months, they should have been fully cycled (fully charged, fully discharged, and then fully recharged) at least every 3 months in order to keep the batteries in good condition. If they were just sitting in storage for 9 months, that could easily cause premature battery failure.  The owner's manual covers all of this...

Please email me directly if you need help with troubleshooting or repair service.

I hope this helps,

Vinnie