Gold lion bias too far out!

[Gixxalee]

Hi guys I just got myself a pair of gold lion KT66's for my 2266C. I fitted them warmed the amp up and checked the bias only to find they were way apart! One was 60 +mV the othr 40?! :( These were supposed to be a matchted pair from Hotrox. Any ideas on this one or should I send em back? I've put the oe valves back in for now.

Cheers,
Lee

[Dave W]

That is a significant difference! I am not an expert and am not sure if it could hurt/strain the amp? As far as tone it seems like a wide enough variation that if you had an actuall matched set that it would make a difference. Thats a 20 point difference you show. Personally I would be pissed off at more than a 5 point difference, if they were supposed to be matched! I buy my tubes from Eurotubes and have never had more than a 1 point difference even in a quad of tubes, so maybe I have been spoiled. My guess is that the place where you bought them from either lied about their testing or they did not actually test them but relied on the factory testing and the factory saying they were matched. If you were running 4 tubes you could mix and match them to get closer to equal for each side, but with just 2 you are going to see the difference more in the reading. I have a quad of those same tubes in my VM2246, they are not cheap. You paid good money and I personally feel you have a legitamate gripe. Maybe you could take a picture of the reading and email it to them or send it with the tubes when you send them back. They will test them. If they are honest they will see the difference and should be embarrassed and make things good. If they are not they may minimize your claim. They should cover your shipping back and for the next set to you if they care about what they do at all. I would state the things I have mentioned and you may seem a little harsh but they need to feel that it is their problem to correct or they might give you the run around. They may question how you tested and what your experience with tubes and biasing is etc. and be resistive. Hpoefully they will just say ooops and tell you to send them back. Thats just my opinion and I am not an expert but you have reason to gripe! See what others have to say. Good luck!

[SteveD]

Hi guys I just got myself a pair of gold lion KT66's for my 2266C. I fitted them warmed the amp up and checked the bias only to find they were way apart! One was 60 +mV the othr 40?! :( These were supposed to be a matchted pair from Hotrox. Any ideas on this one or should I send em back? I've put the oe valves back in for now.

Cheers,
Lee

Obviously the only thing that is matched is the name. :lol:

What was wrong with the stock valves?

[Gixxalee]

Hi guys I just got myself a pair of gold lion KT66's for my 2266C. I fitted them warmed the amp up and checked the bias only to find they were way apart! One was 60 +mV the othr 40?! :( These were supposed to be a matchted pair from Hotrox. Any ideas on this one or should I send em back? I've put the oe valves back in for now.

Cheers,
Lee

Obviously the only thing that is matched is the name. :lol:

What was wrong with the stock valves?

Nothing was wrong with the stock valves. I got the gold lions a) because alot of people on here seem to be rating them and b), I wanted a back up set ready for our first gig in a couple of weeks. The kid in me couldn't resist putting them in and seeing if they are as good as everyone says. I'm thinking I'll stick with OE in future. i had a replacement set under warranty, the ones that are in it. you may remember the shop said it didn't need biasing. But I checked it any way. and at the time they were really close. I put them back in obviously and re checked as a matter of course and this time i kept checking them over a half hour or so period (amp left on all that time) and they were 43.8 and 46.6. I was much more confident this time taking the readings so they should be more accurate. Just out of interest. If I hadn't checked those and I had a failure in a gig situation and just banged one of those in and it happened to be the one that was reading 60+mV what would happen?