Psvane KT120 amp

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Is there just a type of switch to select which tube the meter is monitoring ? Wonder if the switch could be a problem...
Might be worth trying one of these tube scouts
https://tubedepot.com/products/tubedepot-bias-scout-kit

-jay

There is a toggle switch on each side between the output tubes. You hold the switch toward the tube you want to bias and turn the adjustment screw until the built in meter 0`s out. Very easy to do and one of the reasons I bought this amp .
 
I guess before I posted that link to the bias buddy, I should have asked if there were terminals you can take measurements from with a meter... at least if you got a measurement, you could be sure the problem isn't just a defective toggle

-jay
 
Just had my 3rd. Psvane tube go south after just three days. I`m done with Psvane tubes. I have read thru the years that they lack in sound, reliability and quality, more so with their more $$$ ones, but not being able to get more than 3 days out of a tube is crazy. I`m so frustrated with this amp.
 
While i wait for my TS tubes from GF i thought that i would give an update on the sound during the last three days before the one KT120 went south.

When i received the new Psvane KT120 i decided to get down to some serious listening. Once again the sound stage was all over the place and the overall sound was thin and stringent. Then and there i knew some tube rolling was needed, i have been tube rolling since the late 1960`s so i have quite the collection and am very familiar with all 6SN7 tubes, so i decided what this amp needed were Ken-Rad VT 231`s dark bottles. Chinese tubes can be dark or on the hypertension side of things, the dark being too smooth and delivering unrealistic music reproduction yet can produce individual sounds nicely, notice i said sounds, while the hypertension tubes loose focus and imaging. The Ken-Rads combine the best of both worlds and they did not disappoint.

Right from the first note there was an immediate difference, male voices had natural authority, some Chinese tubes are so dark that it sounds like singers are singing thru a bass sub-woofer, not the Ken-Rads, deep but natural. A soundstage finally and where it belongs with 3D imaging. One of the biggest improvements was instrument focus and placement with control. I could now hear instruments behind other instruments which the Chinese 6SN7`s would not allow because of their hypertensive display and presentation, i`m now hearing music that was absent with the stock tubes, really quite a revelation.

The Ken-Rads were the only tubes that i was able to roll before the Psvane tube gave up. I think this amp would sound maybe even better with some 1952 bad boy`s or 1578`s.

The Ken-Rads showed me that the TC5 is can deliver some good music, to the extent that it surprised me. It really is a shame that as delivered it comes with the tubes it does, it`s like buying a sports car with bald tires. Some of the other high end Chinese manufactures now offer their premium products with NOS American tubes, something Psvane should consider. Sure Psvane makes some cool looking tubes but longevity and quality of both sound and product should come first over looks, but as the old saying go`s, people buy a paint job.

Anyway when i get the TS`s i will continue my impressions.
 
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While i wait for my TS tubes from GF i thought that i would give an update on the sound during the last three days before the one KT120 went south.

When i received the new Psvane KT120 i decided to get down to some serious listening. Once again the sound stage was all over the place and the overall sound was thin and stringent. Then and there i knew some tube rolling was needed, i have been tube rolling since the late 1960`s so i have quite the collection and am very familiar with all 6SN7 tubes, so i decided what this amp needed were Ken-Rad VT 231`s dark bottles. Chinese tubes can be dark or on the hypertension side of things, the dark being too smooth and delivering unrealistic music reproduction yet can produce individual sounds nicely, notice i said sounds, while the hypertension tubes loose focus and imaging. The Ken-Rads combine the best of both worlds and they did not disappoint.

Right from the first note there was an immediate difference, male voices had natural authority, some Chinese tubes are so dark that it sounds like singers are singing thru a bass sub-woofer, not the Ken-Rads, deep but natural. A soundstage finally and where it belongs with 3D imaging. One of the biggest improvements was instrument focus and placement with control. I could now hear instruments behind other instruments which the Chinese 6SN7`s would not allow because of their hypertensive display and presentation, i`m now hearing music that was absent with the stock tubes, really quite a revelation.

The Ken-Rads were the only tubes that i was able to roll before the Psvane tube gave up. I think this amp would sound maybe even better with some 1952 bad boy`s or 1578`s.

The Ken-Rads showed me that the TC5 is can deliver some good music, to the extent that it surprised me. It really is a shame that as delivered it comes with the tubes it does, it`s like buying a sports car with bald tires. Some of the other high end Chinese manufactures now offer their premium products with NOS American tubes, something Psvane should consider. Sure Psvane makes some cool looking tubes but longevity and quality of both sound and product should come first over looks, but as the old saying go`s, people buy a paint job.

Anyway when i get the TS`s i will continue my impressions.

I wanted to make this clear i`m not endorsing the TC5, just sharing that there was a marked improvement in sound using the Ken-Rads, which is pretty much the norm with any Chinese amp when rolling out stock Chinese tubes with American tubes. In comparison to other Chinese amps it fits in nicely with others priced in the $600-800 range, close comparison would be Music Angel and Yaquin 100B, the TC5 has more drive but falling short of the Bewitch 6550 which in stock and modified form is more musical.

There are lots of unknowns regarding the TC5, why are the power tubes failing? is it really the tubes? or something in the amp? in my 47 years of actual tube rolling i have never had so many tube failures happen in such a short time, i have some amps that have had the same tubes for 47 yrs! The amp requiring constant bias adjustment is something that i have also not experienced, my other amps i check about once every six months and they always seem to be fine. Also i do not have that warm fuzzy feeling regarding the purchase, while Rachel has been nice, if anything goes wrong with the amp itself your pretty much on your own, the most i can expect is advice, the security is not there that if something is wrong it will be handled to the customers satisfaction. I do not feel any safer in my purchase then if i would have bought direct from the manufacture in China, in other words that extra mile is not going to be taken to make sure the customer is satisfied,you bought it live with it is pretty much the stance.
 
Latest update of TC5 amp with Tung-Sol KT120 tubes:

From the all together 4 endusers' report of early failure of Psvane KT120 tubes that come with the Psvane TC5 amp, we have taken actions to address the issue immediately on Feb 27th. Below is what have been done to improve tube reliability on this amplifier:

1) All Psvane KT120 tubes installed on the entire stock of TC5 amps have been removed from packaging on Feb 28th and returned to Psvane Audio factory in China for their quality control investigation.

2) Two units of TC5 amps have been randomly chosen from our stock in Hong Kong and shipped to our long term tube amp repair tech in Canada on March 2nd for technical audit to confirm if any issue on the amp could be causing tube failure.

3) Replacement Tung-Sol KT120 tubes for every single TC5 amp in stock and those sold to buyers already have been ordered from Tung-Sol's North American distributor on March 1st.

4) Our long term tube amp service tech (with over 30 years experience in servicing high end tube amps such as Canary, Audio Space, Line Magnetic etc..) confirmed to us on March 10th that 'TC5 has no design issue. The tube failure is caused by tube reliability issue, not vise versa. The amp if used with reliable KT120 tubes, it should work as good as any well built tube amp.'

5) Tung-Sol distributor has provided quad matching for all Tung-Sol KT120 tubes that we ordered to ensure TC5 amp owners will have a matched quad to go with the TC5 amp. We have received the Tung-Sol tube shipment today March 12th in our Canadian office.

6) All previous buyers of TC5 (including those 4 who had reported Psvane KT120 tube failures) have been provided return instruction of Psvane KT120 tubes to Grant Fidelity in Canada on March 12th and replacement Tung-Sol tubes will be sent by DHL Air Express to all buyers once their return is confirmed by way of postage receipt.

7) We will start a fresh forum thread for "Re-Launching" Psvane TC5 integrated KT120 amp with Tung-Sol KT120 tubes shipped separately from Canada and amplifier continues being shipped from Hong Kong directly. This thread will be closed as of now.

We appreciate everyone's patience with us while we sort out this tube quality matter. As always, quality is always of first priority for Grant Fidelity and we will take all measures we can to ensure our product quality.

Thank you.
Rachel @ Grant Fidelity
 

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