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I've owned my VAC Avatar for just about 6 years. I love the sound and flexibilty I have with the amp. I have a HT system that I run through the Avatar and a turntable. My beef is that up until about 1 year ago I was going through power tubes about every 9-10 months. The right channel would always go. I then read that JJ E34L had a manufacturing defect the caused them to fit loosely and it would cause the tubes to blow. I switched to the old Svetlana EL 34's and haven't had a lick of trouble since. That has been about 1 year. The other problem I've had is that the amp is blowing fuses. When I was going through tubes every few months it would usually take out one of the fuses with it. Now I'm blowing fuses when I shut down the amp tubes are still good as far as a I know. It plays fine for hours but about every few days I loose a fuse during shut down. I'm probably going to send it back and get it fixed but I'm not thrilled about the longevity and reliablity of the amp especially considering the cost. I'm entertaining thoughts as to whether there is something that sounds as good for the money that is more reliable and less hassle that I should consider?
Follow Ups:
They are a small and responsive company. Usually, you can talk to the guys that designed and built the units directly. They will know why it is doing this, or what you need to do. Sounds to me like you have some power supply or shut-down circuit problem, and need to send the unit in for repair.
That is exactly what I did. I shipped the amp yesterday and it will there on Monday. I'm having the SE upgrade done as well while they have it. My beef is that the amp is 6-7 years old cost a fair amount of money and shouldn't have this kind of trouble this soon. I have a $200 Onkyo receiver that is 20+ years old that works great.
Are you using slow-blow fuses in the amplifier?? I think that is normally recommended. I am wondering if a capacitor in line with the switch is another thing you can try, but it's best to leave that to the manufacturer.
I can only find fast blow fuses locally no slow blow. I've got the amp double boxed and ready to ship. I'm going to let VAC figure it out! I just think that is best. I spoke with someone locally who owns some good tube equipment and works for a speaker manufacturer. He has also been in the audio industry for years. His recommendation was to let VAC fix it!
...I'll be happy to take that unreliable VAC off your hands.
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