[Dan Kolton]

Worst case, you can buy the closest slow-blow under 10 amps that you can find regardless of whether it's ceramic and probably get away with it until you find the Buss.  Be sure not to exceed 10 amps, though.....Please correct me if you think this is a bad idea, Frank.

[mark funk]

There are many places to get this fuse or what ever fuse you need, I stock up from Allied and or Mouser or Digi-Key and Parts Express. You might try an Auto parts store to try to get one today. I would have liked to see that 10 amp fast blow when you hit the power switch. Did it glow a little before it blow? The Shack is not what it use to be. I hope you get a fuse today and that is the problem, I don't like to be with out my AVA.

[Tom Alverson]

You can't see anything when the ceramic fuses blow.  If it were glass you could watch it light up for a second before it blew.  The  glass slow blow fuses up to 8Amps can handle 250V AC but the 10Amp glass fuses are only rated  32V AC.  My guess is that there is an arc-over possibility with a blown 10 Amp glass fuse when more than 32V AC is present.  The 8 Amp glass fuses are rated at 250V AC so that could be used for testing as long as you don't crank the amp up "to 11".  The ceramic fuses maintain the 250V AC rating at the higher amperages.

Tom

[TjMV3]

Update:

Unfortunately the amp is going back to Frank for further inspection

Frank and Matthew sent me two fuses.

Weird thing happened.  The first fuse blew immediatly.  So I tried the second fuse.  The amp powered up just fine,  with the second fuse.

I played music for the remainder of the day and evening.  Then booted the system down,  before going to bed.

The next morning I powered the system back up and the fuse in the Fet Valve blew.  It's very strange.

Something must have happened during the shipping process,  from Frank's place to mine. 

Thank you Frank and Matthew for being patient with me and helping me working through this.

[TjMV3]

Sorry for not updating this in so long.  But I was involved in a car accident just before Thanksgiving and I was layed up for a while.


As it turns out,  there was nothing wrong with the Fet Valve 500 amp,  whatsoever.

The problem was in the electrical outlet/receptacle.  It had a short and was going bad.   The confusing thing was that it was only showing intermittent signs and we missed it for quite a while,  simply because of the timing.

One day I was listening to music and had to leave for physical therapy.  So I hit stop on my CD Player.  A few seconds after I hit stop,  all of my components lost power and all of the display and power lights went off.

We keep a desk in front of that outlet,  in that room,   so that the kids can not get to the outlet.   Cindy was getting soemthing out of the desk drawer.  The drawer often sticks when pulling open and closing.   Well,   a few seconds after my components lost power,  Cindy pushed the drawer closed with alittle extra umpf to it. 

When she did that,  the desk slid back a little,  hit the head of the rounded power chord to my TripLite surge protector and the power briefly returned to alll of my components;  as they lit up,  again.  Only to lose the power 20-30 seconds later.

Anyway,  my dad was an electrician for some 40 odd years,  so when he came down to visit that next weekend,  I asked him to take a look at it.  I bought a new receptacle,  dad did the work.

I bought more fuses for this amp,  replaced the bad fuse with the new fuse.......and now it's busy singing music for me aa

Since the receptacle was replaced I've had no problems whatsoever!!!!

My apologies to Frank and Matthew for taking up your time with this situation.  Sorry,  but I didn't know the receptacle was going bad until I saw the signs of it.

And thank you for your time and help. 

And now,  for a little fun.

This VA amp is my first VA component,  so I have it matched with other gear.  To my ears and my tastes,  I felt like the JJ Tesla tubes in the amp were a little tilted towards the high frequencies,  in that specific system.  So I did some tube rolling in my Vincent Audio SA-T1 pre amp.

The SA-T1 utilizes three 12AX7 tubes and one 12AU7.

It took several different tube rolling combos and sevral tries,  but.....

I changed out the two New Sensor/Reflektor Tung Sol Reissues in the output stages and replaced them with two New Sensor/Reflektor Mullard reissues. 

I replaced the 1967 Tesla ECC802S/12AU7 tube,  with a NOS 1953 RCA,  blackplate.....squaregetter.... JRC 12AU7;  that I've been sitting on for several years. 

And for the power section tube, that sits in the front panel,  I replaced the Tung Sol reissue with a .........NOS 1959 Grey plate,  square getter......Sylvania Baldwin 12AX7.

All I can say is..........WOW!!

The sound is so full now....more balanced ...doesn't tilt to the high frequencies,  anymore.  A much more overall balanced sound.  The bass is tight and so tuneful...so musical.  But it's an overall musicality.  There's clarity and detail,  with a nice touch of warmth and richness. Highs are sweet,  smooth and beautiful.  Midrange and vocal are captivatingly beautiful.   And so smooth....so smooth.  A nice balance that pleases my ears and tastes. 


For those who may be wondering,  the rest of the component chain is:

The Vincent S6 CD Player (Mullard reissue 12AX7 and a very early 70's Tesla Crossed Swords 6922 tube,  with a JJ Tesla 12AU7 Long Plate in the headphone position)

The Rega Apollo CD Player.....

Jamo C807 floorstanding speakers



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

[TjMV3]

Just wanted to say.....

I'm really loving this amp!!!  It has balls and kicks ass when the music calls for it,  but it also is delicate and soft.....when the music calls for that.  Very musical.

I'm a happy camper!!

[martyo]

Glad you're healed up from the car accident and that you're a happy camper. I enjoy hearing about when it's all going well!   
Any good sounding Cd's you can share with us?                                                                                               

[TjMV3]

Glad you're healed up from the car accident and that you're a happy camper. I enjoy hearing about when it's all going well!   
Any good sounding Cd's you can share with us?                                                                                               

Thanks,  but....

Unfortunately I'm still going to physical therapy for the injuries my spine,  neck and all related muscles sustained and I'm still seeing my neurosurgeon on a regular basis for the post concussion syndrom; from the head trauma. 

But there has been some positive progress in my neck.  All my verterbae are pretty much re-aligned correctly and the two severe curvetures have been almost all straightened out.

My mid-upper spine and lower spine is taking longer to straighten out.  The curvetures there are proving to be a mule to correct. And the paraspinal muscle tears are coming along very slowly.  Lots of inflamation and muscle spasms.

Enough of the griping... 


I've been listening to ......

Govi- Guitar Odyssey ..........   Govi- Your Lingering Touch...

Gene Ammons- The Organ Combos

Jimmy Smith - Six Views of the Blues

Pierre Fournier- J.S. Bach Cello Suites (Archiv Produktion)

Kenny Burrell- Moten Swing (great sounding CD!!!)

Kenny Burrell- Midnight Blue (The Rudy Van G. remaster edition)

Butch Walker- Sycamore Meadows

Jimmy Smith- Respect (Verve)

Acoustic Alchemy - Against The Grain

3rd Force- Force Field

Kenny Burrell with Coleman Hawkins-  Bluesy Burrell

Butch Walker- The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites

Dixie Chicks- Wide Open Spaces

Dixie Chicks-  Home


In my opinion,  all great sounding CDs.

[martyo]

I apologize for my assumption.
I hope your healing continues.

Thanks for the list of tunes.

[baumer]

Jimmy Smith - Six Views of the Blues

Kenny Burrell- Moten Swing (great sounding CD!!!)

Kenny Burrell- Midnight Blue (The Rudy Van G. remaster edition)

Jimmy Smith- Respect (Verve)

Kenny Burrell with Coleman Hawkins-  Bluesy Burrell

Good luck on the healing. Since you seem to be a fan, the Kenny Burrell/Jimmy Smith CD "Blue Bash" is worth checking out.

[turkey]

But there has been some positive progress in my neck.  All my verterbae are pretty much re-aligned correctly and the two severe curvetures have been almost all straightened out.

I'm glad that there is positive progress. It sounds like the rest just needs some time.

So relax some more, kick back, and listen to some music.

[jandl100]

And now,  for a little fun.

I did some tube rolling in my Vincent Audio SA-T1 pre amp.

[.......]

All I can say is..........WOW!!

[.......]

 There's clarity and detail,  with a nice touch of warmth and richness. Highs are sweet,  smooth and beautiful.  Midrange and vocal are captivatingly beautiful.   And so smooth....so smooth.  A nice balance that pleases my ears and tastes. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Hi Tj

This is my first post here, I only came across the forum as there is a Vincent SA-T1 pre-amp on eBay.uk (I'm a Brit  ) and I was doing a Google search on it.

Curiously, the first link I came up with was by Tyson http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=59434.0 ....#

I will make this short and sweet - do NOT buy this preamp.  It was perhaps the worst hi-fi purchase I have ever made and I could not sell it off quickly enough after I bought it.  Luckily I bought it used so I did not lose my shirt on it.  It had several features I liked (remote volume, source, mute), and the ability to tube swap (always a plus), but the sound was consistently muddy and indistinct.  It looks on the outside like it might be a really good piece of gear, but do not be fooled for it sounds like mud.  Avoid, avoid, avoid!

I assume that you do not agree with Tyson's view?

I'm in a bit of a quandary here - to bid or not to bid! 

My kit is Perpetual Tech 3 box DAC, Bel canto eVo4 amp (bridged to stereo), and Martin Logan CLSiiz full range stats.

What to do?
____

... and most importantly, best of luck in your recovery from the car accident.

[TjMV3]

Welcome jandl100!!!

I really don't know what to tell you about this.  I can't speak for Tyson.  If that's what Tyson heard with the Vincent SA-T1,  in his system,  with his gear;  I certainly can't argue with his ears.

Maybe that's simply the way it sounded in his system.  Could have been a bad combo/bad synergy.  Or a bad match specs wise.  I don't know.


I know that in my system,   with fresh tubes,    in several different configurations of gear and speakers I have tried;  the SA-T1 has never sounded muddy and indistinct.

I do know that there are certain NOS/Vintage tubes that sound awful in the SA-T1 and I guess muddy could be a word to describe the sound.   

Truth is,    the stock Shuguang 12AX7 and 12AU7 tubes that come with the SA-T1 can go bad quickly. And when they do,  they get very muddy and bloated sounding.

But with good,  fresh tubes in the SA-T1...........it is a very smooth,  nicely detailed (but not analytical or overly hyper-detailed) pre amp,  with a nice slight touch of warmth. 

The SA-T1 also has  "Loudness" and "Tone"  buttons,  which you have to make sure are disengaged.  Make sure they are in the off position.  Not to be confused with the Bass and Treble knobs,  though.

I would imagine Tyson made sure those buttons were disengaged.

I guess the only suggestion I could make is for you to try to audition the SA-T1.

There's no way for me to know whether the SA-T1 is the pre amp for you.   Impossible for me to say.

It's wierd because I've had several people over here who have said my system is nicely detailed.  The detail and seperation of all the instruments and the scale of it all,  is something they have often spoken about. 

Granted,  my system with the SA-T1 is not the ultimate in detail.  It's a more balanced sound without harshness,  brightness or sounding dry and analytical.

But quite frankly,  there's nothing on the recordings that isn't being conveyed by the SA-T1,  so nothing is missing.

Maybe Tyson can comment of what combo of gear he used and what tubes he tried.

[TjMV3]

And thank you guys,  for the well wishes!

baumer,   I have Blues Bash.  Love it!!

[martyo]

Could you describe what analytical sounds like, or what is "sounding dry and analytical. I'm quite sure of "dry". Curious of your take on analytical.

thanks

[TjMV3]

Could you describe what analytical sounds like, or what is "sounding dry and analytical. I'm quite sure of "dry". Curious of your take on analytical.

thanks

It's hard to explain,  that's why I tend to use those words.  But I'll try........

I've heard systems (and I won't mention brand names,  don't want to start a gear/brand war,  here) that are so hyper detailed,  that the detail of every instrument just jumps out at you.  But the timbre of each instrument....that individual tone of each note/chord ...the melody gets washed out and all kind of sounds dull or the same.

It's as if it all just sounds bludgeoned...or something.  The melody gets lost or something.

Which is weird,  because I would think highly detailed gear would in fact,  bring out the melody...the tone...the timbre and make it more musical.  But I've heard plenty of so-called highly-detailed...or highly-revealing systems that simply sound like that.

In my systems,  with the SA-T1 and in my system with my AVA gear.........the timbre...the tone/melody of notes...chords and arrangements sound musical and wonderful.  I can easily hear the distinction between notes...chords and thier individual tone.  All the soul...the essence of the tone is there. Which carries the melody,  beautifully.

That's the only was I can describe it.

[martyo]

Thanks. I asked because early on when I was "getting used" to the HT3's, in a thread on the Salk Circle, someone posted that the problem was that my gear was too analytical.( a bad characteristic) Then someone posted a definition of analytical and by the definition, it was a good characteristic. (Can't remember the exact definition they gave). 

Funny, Frank just used analytical (bad) to describe a type of sound in another thread.

[TjMV3]

Maybe this makes more sense.....


Tonal character.  

I love the distinct tonal charcter of each note.....of the timbre of each instrument....of each note.  The distinct tonal character of the different sounds of the electric guitar or bass guitar.  Any instrument.   Each singers voice has it's own distinct tonal character.  Know what I mean?

On those other systems I was refering to,  it's as if the tonal character gets bleached out some.  

I remember playing a CD and wondering why does that ukulele sound so bland,  that one could mistake it for a bland mandolin....or a bland nylon string guitar.

On my systems,  you know it's a Ukulele.

[TjMV3]

Thanks. I asked because early on when I was "getting used" to the HT3's, in a thread on the Salk Circle, someone posted that the problem was that my gear was too analytical.( a bad characteristic) Then someone posted a definition of analytical and by the definition, it was a good characteristic. (Can't remember the exact definition they gave). 

Funny, Frank just used analytical (bad) to describe a type of sound in another thread.

I know a lot of people think these terms I used are cliche and they're probably right. 

But how else is one supposed to describe what one hears and the differences one hears in systems? 

eh,  we do the best we can. 

[martyo]

Yes, that makes total sense. It would also make sense that that is what the first poster meant in the Salk thread. Thanks again.

The descriptions are fine, I was just getting clarification.