[amblin]

Right, i just brought a tube amp, and i belive i've just jumped into a can full of worms. 

A friend of mine offered me his first hand Jadis Defy 7 mkIII ,near mint, all original tubes at a price almost 40% lower than the lowest price i could find over the net. An offer i simply can not turn down....so i rushed to his home and picked it up.. Well his two boys carried it to my car, and when i got back home, i tried to get it out of the car and holy cow it's jolly heavy, like trying to carry a big fat dead bloke out of the boot.. i sprained my neck getting it out, and pancaked my fingers while trying to get it into my listening room

So it's now just sitting on the floor, i simply couldn't get it onto the base i intended for it and both my spare RCA and speaker cables were too short to reach its current location.. So i had no choice but to cut a length from my roll of $5 chicken cables for outdoor speakers and the longer RCAs my DENON AV amp generously offered

And... The biggest problem : i know absolutely noting about tube amps and the original owner knows nothing as well.. The manual said nothing about how to re-bias the tubes and Mr Google gave me an instruction so complicated that i couldn't even understand what i just read and i'm sure i'll be fried by the hundreds of volts inside if i attempt to open the bottom plate ...  I'll email the french and see if they can offer some detailed instructions..i trust them...

But Mmmmm...it's so handsome..brass plates , polished metal and all that,  like a million bucks on the floor.. and those tubes, they glow in such a mystical way....   Too bad it's so heavy, otherwise i'll be able to shake it abit and see if there're any loose parts inside....

[skunark]

Looks killer!   

I've always wanted a tube amp for shits and grins but I keep thinking about the cost of replacing the tubes, the fact that the new tubes could sound different, space and lastly, i don't think they can sound better than Bryston amps...

I do have a tube pre-amp (C2300) and love it though.

[woodsyi]

It will warm your room for sure.

[amblin]

Looks killer!   

I've always wanted a tube amp for shits and grins but I keep thinking about the cost of replacing the tubes, the fact that the new tubes could sound different, space and lastly, i don't think they can sound better than Bryston amps...

I do have a tube pre-amp (C2300) and love it though.

No it doesnt.  I still prefer the sound of my 14B . And i don't think i'll spend too much money on tubes, maybe i'll try get several sets of the not-so-expensive ones and play around a bit but that's after i figure out how to re-bias the thing... maybe i should get a pair of wellies so i'm off the ground and with my pair rubber gloves , it can't bite my fingers off, or fry my hair.

But how do i describe the sound of this Jadis.... 'Very interesting '.  I kinda liked the thick, full bodied sound especially while playing classical music, so thick, one can almost bite on it...

And it's running so hot.. i always set my air conditioner @ 24 C (~73 F) and while the jadis was running, it's able to raise the room temperature by almost 2 degress and kicked the air con to full power...

[DaveNote]

Can of worms may be the right description. Bought my first tubed piece of equipment, ever. Big hum. Returned it to manufacturer who found no hum and is returning it with new tubes hoping that they will solve the hum problem. Only reason I'm crossing my fingers and not seeking a refund is that even with the hum, it sounds marginally better than my SS equivalent.  But I'm not looking forward to finding tube replacements in the future.

Dave

[jjc1]

  Hey Guys!  Replacing tubes is no big deal. Neither is setting the bias. I'm sure the manufacturer can tell you how to do it. Or maybe it auto biases. I have been using a Cary SLI80 for almost 9 years and have replaced the tubes only twice. Granted, tube sound is lusher and maybe adds color that some don't want but they can really sing and make some of the sweetest sound you'll hear. As always in audio, to each his own.

[rpf]

Tube amps are a huge hassle not worth the trouble. Being a really generous, helpful person, I'll take it off your hands for a very nominal consideration. 

[SET Man]

........

And... The biggest problem : i know absolutely noting about tube amps and the original owner knows nothing as well.. The manual said nothing about how to re-bias the tubes and Mr Google gave me an instruction so complicated that i couldn't even understand what i just read and i'm sure i'll be fried by the hundreds of volts inside if i attempt to open the bottom plate ...  I'll email the french and see if they can offer some detailed instructions..i trust them...

....

Hey!

     Wouldn't it be better to post this in "Tube" circle than here? 

     Anyway, very nice tube amp you've got there. Jadis is one of a long running tube amp companies that I do like and respected.

Take care,
Buddy

[nomeans]

I do have to say, I really like the industrial look of tube amps. If it wasn't for the "tube" sound, excessive heat, cost of replacement tubes, and the weight of them, I would definetly own one. Wait a minute............ 

[amblin]

Can of worms may be the right description. Bought my first tubed piece of equipment, ever. Big hum. Returned it to manufacturer who found no hum and is returning it with new tubes hoping that they will solve the hum problem. Only reason I'm crossing my fingers and not seeking a refund is that even with the hum, it sounds marginally better than my SS equivalent.  But I'm not looking forward to finding tube replacements in the future.

Dave

Yeah,  it's humming like a tibetan monk in my house but quiet as rock in my friends home...

I called the Jadis dealer in the city and they suggested that i should retire ALL 18 tubes ($1200 new from them ) otherwise they refuse to offer any support on the matter since it's not purchased from them...Then i called my Bryston dealer, and surprisingly they agreed to send a senior technician with sufficient knowledge and experience on tubes to help fix the problem tomorrow, for a small charge.    Another reason to love Bryston, and their very helpful dealer 

And indeed it's more fitting to post in the tubes section, so James, please feel free to move the topic.

[James Tanner]

Yeah,  it's humming like a tibetan monk in my house but quiet as rock in my friends home...

I called the Jadis dealer in the city and they suggested that i should retire ALL 18 tubes ($1200 new from them ) otherwise they refuse to offer any support on the matter since it's not purchased from them...Then i called my Bryston dealer, and surprisingly they agreed to send a senior technician with sufficient knowledge and experience on tubes to help fix the problem tomorrow, for a small charge.    Another reason to love Bryston, and their very helpful dealer 

And indeed it's more fitting to post in the tubes section, so James, please feel free to move the topic.

Topic is fine - what dealer offered to help?

James

[amblin]

Topic is fine - what dealer offered to help?

James

Richcoln Company Limited, they sell a very wide range of gears including Bryston, Pass Labs, Boulder, dCS,  Octave , Denon, Marantz, PMC, ProAc, Sonus faber and Wilson , and they are highly efficent, always there to offer their helping hands. 

[headshrinker2]

Sounds like a good dealer... and a wise dealer.

Richcoln Company Limited, they sell a very wide range of gears including Bryston, Pass Labs, Boulder, dCS,  Octave , Denon, Marantz, PMC, ProAc, Sonus faber and Wilson , and they are highly efficent, always there to offer their helping hands. 

[amblin]

ahh, i admit it's at the very least more interesting to look at than the two LEDs on my beloved Bryston....

[Ericus Rex]

Yeah,  it's humming like a tibetan monk in my house but quiet as rock in my friends home...

Ground loop maybe?  If so, that fix would only cost you $.79     Otherwise, I'd suspect the wiring in your house.  Especially considering it was quiet at your friend's.  If none of the above than I'd guess damage in transit.  You should definitely sell to rpf and go back to FETs.

[amblin]

Ground loop maybe?  If so, that fix would only cost you $.79     Otherwise, I'd suspect the wiring in your house.  Especially considering it was quiet at your friend's.  If none of the above than I'd guess damage in transit.  You should definitely sell to rpf and go back to FETs.

Yeah, i think it's the ground loop because it's humming in both channels .  And a $0.79 fix? I'm very eager to learn some details 

[Ericus Rex]

What you do is you have to float the grounds on all but one component.  That means getting 'cheater' plugs (those plugs that allow you to plug a grounded plug into an ungrounded outlet) at your local hardware store.  For safety, YOU MUST have one component grounded.  All other components will then be grounded through that component via the ICs.  The easiest thing to do would be get one of those cheaters, use a power strip with the cheater and plug everything except your one grounded component into the power strip.  Let us know if this solves your problem.

[BrysTony]

Yeah, i think it's the ground loop because it's humming in both channels .  And a $0.79 fix? I'm very eager to learn some details 

The ground on an incoming video cable is often the problem.  If you have a video cable in your system disconnect it and see if it solves the problem.  Here is an article on fixing ground loop issues. http://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/products/articles/180767.html

Tony

[HsvHeelFan]

Several years before I bought my Bryston, I did have the opportunity to listen to some Conrad Johnson tube gear.

Beautiful, almost artistic, packaging.  I just don't care for the tube sound.  I may not have had the CJ paired with the right speakers and it was in the audio store demo room.

I considered other solid state gear before the Bryston was recommended to me.  The person that recommended the Bryston knew that I played in the Orchestra and with Qunitets and other bands/wind ensembles.

HsvHeelFan

[amblin]

The guy from Bryston dealer just visited

 After some quick tests he concluded that  the hum was partially because i'm sharing the socket/line with my video equiptments (i got a dedicated line for my audio equiptments, but it's currently out of reach...due to the thing's sheer weight..)  .

 And the thing shall be re-biased , he'll come again in the weekend so he can spend more time on the thing. Beacuse the biasing ports were not directly accessable on the top panel and he'll also need a 'load resistor'... (never heard of it...  )

BTW, i just found a 'tubes 101' article over the net.... Tubes are NUKE PROOF!