Octave V 80 SE, Owner'S Manual

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9. PROTECTION SYSTEM
The V 80 SE features a comprehensive electronic monitoring and protection system. This system
will automatically switch the V 80 SE off if a fault occurs in the power section.
The protection system has been designed to keep the unit safe from the consequences of
overloads of any kind and to protect the output tubes from current surges.
The red “Protection” LED lights up in [7] to show that the protection system has tripped.
The amplifier will not play music once the protection system has tripped and you will not be able to
check or adjust the bias setting.
The bias LEDs will show "yellow" for each of the four output tubes.
If a Black Box or a Super Black Box is connected to the V 80 SE, the front panel (operate) LED of
the Black Box / Super Black Box will go out. If the Super Black Box is connected, tripping the
protection system will automatically activate the discharge circuit of the Super Black Box (see
Chapter 12).
The following conditions can cause the protection system to trip:

Overdriving the V 80 SE to excessive levels or with excessive levels of low frequency.

A speaker cable short circuit while the speakers are being driven at high listening levels.

A fault in one or more of the output tubes.

A fault in one of the preamp tubes which overloads the affected channel.
Once the protection system has cut in, the only way you can turn the V 80 SE back on is to turn the
on/off switch off and then on again. Allow the unit two minutes to cool down before switching it back
on. If possible, identify and eliminate the cause of the problem. (see Chapter 13 "Troubleshooting")
If it is not clear what has caused the protection system to trip, we recommend you check the bias
before attempting to use the amplifier again. Tube faults can often result in widely varying bias
settings. When these settings exceed a particular value they can cause the protection system to
trip.