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11. TROUBLESHOOTING 

 
 

11.2. Faults caused by tubes, faulty tubes 

 
Like other OCTAVE products, the V 110 SE is equipped with a double safety system. This means 
that  the  amplifier  will  be  protected  from  damage  if  a  component  (tube)  should  fail  and  trip  the 
electronic  protection.  The  protection  system  protects  the  amplifier  and  the  tubes  from  overload.  
This technology has proven its worth in recent years. 

It has enabled us to reduce our overall failure 

rate (except for output tubes, which we are unable to control 100 percent) to virtually zero

.

  

OCTAVE equipment will achieve a service life of 10 to 15 years without needing to be serviced. 

We 

feel that this is particularly important aspect of tube equipment design, as many preconceptions still 
exist about the technology's durability and long-term stability.  
There are a number of reasons why tubes might fail at some point in their lifetime. You can fault-
find tubes by examining their behavior. 

 

Mechanical fault that does not trip the V 110 SE's protection 

 

  The tube's heater filament no longer glows

  

No  matter  whether  it  is  a  driver  tube  or  an  output  tube,  no  tube  can  work  without  a  properly 
functioning heater. 
 

Output tube heater fault 

When  the  heater  system  on  an  output  tube  fails,  you  will  be  unable  to  adjust  the  BIAS.  The 
particular tube will refuse to move from the minus setting. A loose connection inside the tube could 
have caused the heater to fail. It may be possible to repair the connection by mechanical means. If 
the  BIAS  was  previously  badly  misadjusted,  the  BIAS  might  "run  away",  tripping  the  electronic 
protection.  
This is why you should never turn the BIAS screws to the extreme right and leave them there. If 
you have not been able to adjust the BIAS satisfactorily, turn the adjuster screw back to its extreme 
left position. 
 

Driver tube heater fault 

When  a  driver  tube  heater  fault  occurs,  you  will  normally  lose  an  entire  channel  (depending  on 
which driver tube system is affected by the faulty heater). This can only be established by a visual 
examination. The heater filaments are often difficult to see inside the driver tubes, since they only 
protrude very slightly from the tube system. OCTAVE uses double triodes exclusively, i.e. there are 
always two identical tube systems within the glass envelope. Because each of these triode systems 
has its own heater, you should always be able to see two glowing filaments. If you can only see 
one, it means that the tube is faulty. 
 

  A tube has developed an air leak 

The  glass  envelope  of  all  tubes  normally  contains  a  vacuum.  In  order  to  maintain  the  vacuum 
throughout the service life of the tube, there is a device inside the tube that absorbs the residual 
gas. It is called the getter pill. It normally takes the form of a small crucible near the top of the tube. 
It contains a substance known as the getter, which absorbs and permanently retains the residual 
gas.  This  device  ensures  that  the  tube  maintains  a  high  vacuum  during  its  entire  service  life. 
Hairline cracks around the base and leaks around the socket pins can cause the tube to take in air. 
Because the getter is only able to absorb a finite amount of gas, it will soon stop working. The silver 
coating at the top of the tube will then begin to discolor. If a tube has an air leak, you will not be 
able to adjust its BIAS voltage. As soon as a certain amount of air leaks into the tube, it will stop 
working completely and the heater filament will burn through. 

Содержание V 110 SE

Страница 1: ...V 110 SE Owner s Manual English...

Страница 2: ...insights into the interaction of amplifier and loudspeaker With tube amplifiers in particular a general reluctance to depart from the classic circuit designs has not done the technology any favors Alt...

Страница 3: ...4...

Страница 4: ...ector alternative output tubes 18 6 2 Changing the damping factor 19 6 2 Protection 20 6 3 Soft Start 20 6 4 Ecomode 22 6 5 Front Channel 22 6 6 Pre Out regulated 22 6 6 1 Using with an active subwoof...

Страница 5: ...6...

Страница 6: ...ciple The much misunderstood negative feedback does its job extremely well without having any influence on the acoustic side The new amplifier generation impresses with extreme linearity significantly...

Страница 7: ...engineer to replace blown fuses with ones of the same type and rating If your amplifier requires servicing please ship or take your equipment directly to OCTAVE or to one of our authorized service ce...

Страница 8: ...le materials gases or vapors Avoid areas where there may be heavy accumulations of dust or where the unit may be subject to mechanical vibration Place your OCTAVE amplifier on a stable level surface 2...

Страница 9: ...control 2 screwdrivers 1 x 2 mm flat bladed screwdriver for adjusting the bias 1 x 2 5 mm Allen key for removing the cover Owner s manual with warranty card Cloth and gloves 3 2 Removing the grille Pr...

Страница 10: ...nent as well as tube life considerably by protecting against stress caused by typical high inrush currents during switch on Procedure Check that the Ecomode switch on the rear panel is in the Eco off...

Страница 11: ...ter an additional 5 to 10 minutes the BIAS control LEDs will change from yellow to green This indicates the correct bias and the unit is ready If you notice any irregularity in the display please refe...

Страница 12: ...13 3 GETTING STARTED 3 7 Connection options overview...

Страница 13: ...level input for tuner etc Pos 3 Aux 1 RCA line level input for video etc Pos 4 Aux 2 RCA line level input for video etc Pos 5 CD 2 XLR line level input for CD SACD or similar Pos 6 The electronic BIA...

Страница 14: ...witched on Protection Red LED lights up when the electronic protection system has switched off the amplifier in response to an amplifier fault see chapter 6 3 Soft start Lights up during the soft star...

Страница 15: ...with Phono option AUX 1 RCA line level input for Video etc Tape Rec Record output for tape or DAT GND Ground connector for Turntable Front Channel Input for the front channel of a multichannel receive...

Страница 16: ...pacitance upgrade for the power amplifier section see chapter 10 You should switch off the V 110 SE using the power switch before connecting and disconnecting the Black Box AC supply socket IEC socket...

Страница 17: ...he maximum output power is limited to 2 x 70 W to avoid overloading these tubes The rather rare tubes of type KT 90 and KT 100 can be used also in the LOW position The EL 34 can be used in the LOW Pos...

Страница 18: ...speakers popular example are the models of the B W 800 series whose impedance increases by design in the midrange The HIGH version has ad vantages for electrostatic speaker such as Martin Logan which...

Страница 19: ...he 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 110 SE back on is to turn the on off switc...

Страница 20: ...s off the amplifier is on Eco on The Ecomode electronic is activated Ecomode is signal actuated after a 9 minute silence Ecomode switches in automatically The soft start LED 6 indicates that the Ecomo...

Страница 21: ...crossover in the subwoofer electronics will block unwanted DC and low frequency signals 6 7 2 Using the V 110 SE in bi amped systems Another option provided by the adjustable Pre Out is bi amping via...

Страница 22: ...S current to two different values low and high in addition to the Power selector High and Low Output tubes can be divided into two broad classes classic pentode output tubes for medium power amplifier...

Страница 23: ...d Using selected output tubes only makes sense if the idle current is adjusted accurately as is clearly shown in Fig 1 Technical Data How to set the BIAS Turn the Input selector knob 2 clockwise to th...

Страница 24: ...00 6550 KT 90 See chapter 7 2 These tube types do not have to be operated at a high BIAS setting they will work perfectly well on the low setting However certain loudspeakers may benefit from the high...

Страница 25: ...3 2 New untested output tubes should be allowed a longer warm up period You should adjust these tubes after about 20 minutes 7 5 Running in All OCTAVE equipment is subject to a 48 hour soak test at t...

Страница 26: ...ctive RIAA equalization with an active 2nd order subsonic filter The phono preamplifier uses semiconductor technology throughout The subsonic filter suppresses undesirable low frequency signals in the...

Страница 27: ...s dynamic range separation depth soundstage size and articulation rendering the musical reproduction clearer throughout the entire frequency range The amplifier remains unaffected by mains variations...

Страница 28: ...discharges the unit s electrolytics The yellow LED indi cates that this procedure is taking place The discharge circuit also activates if the SBB connecting cable is accidentally removed This is to pr...

Страница 29: ...rs you have two grounded components connected to the V 110 SE You must now unplug your components in reverse order to find out which of them is grounded Usually the hum will still appear even when the...

Страница 30: ...fridges and 12V halogen lamps can produce strong radio interference when they turn on and off Depending on the wiring in your home this can result in clicks and pops in your loudspeakers To fix the pr...

Страница 31: ...he BIAS screws to the extreme right and leave them there If you have not been able to adjust the BIAS satisfactorily turn the adjuster screw back to its extreme left position Driver tube heater fault...

Страница 32: ...e protection system to trip Should this happen switch the V 110 SE off and replace the problem tube Faulty driver tube In very rare cases a problem with one of the driver tubes can cause the V 110 SE...

Страница 33: ...3 minus Output stage Output Power into 4 ohms Power Selector High 2 x 110W RMS Power Selector Low 2 x 70W RMS Peak Power into 4 ohms Power Selector High 2 x 130W Peak Power Selector Low 2 x 90W Peak I...

Страница 34: ...up time 50 sec Power consumption 500 W at full power 190 W idle 20 W in Ecomode Weight 22 70 kg Mains fuse For 230 240V 4A slow blow H 5 x 20 mm For 115 240V 6 3A slow blow H 5 x 20 mm For 100V 6 3 A...

Страница 35: ...usted correctly Curve 2 BIAS 10 out Curve 3 BIAS 30 out Graph 2 Frequency response 5 W into 4 ohms The frequency response curve clearly shows the low frequency extension of the V 110 SE linear to 10 H...

Страница 36: ...W into 4 ohm there is no mains interference to be seen 50 Hz 200 V 100 Hz 70 V The k2 k3 k4 and k5 noise spectrum is extremely low and falls quickly Audio Precision A A FFT SPECTRUM ANALYSIS V 70 SE...

Страница 37: ...checked but these will generally last for well over 10 years 4 Does the V 110 SE have to have all of its tubes fitted In principle the V 110 SE will also operate without tubes It is sometimes useful...

Страница 38: ...tave de We reserve the right to alter and improve the specifications in pursuit of better OCTAVE logo is a registered trade mark of Andreas Hofmann Copyright by Andreas Hofmann Reproduction in whole o...

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