If it’s the tubes swapping the tubes over will reverse the effect.
If it’s not that it’s probably not user addressable.
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Thanks thats nice to know, will test after work
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There is a decent chance it’s a tube, I don’t see how a drop would damage the Pot, if it’s not that there is a very good chance one of the heavier internal components (a transformer or choke) damaged something more substantial when it came to an abrupt halt.
That would take someone with real tools to diagnose.
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I really hope the tube swap confirms that, it would make my day
If not its going to yamamoto or at least the local audio repair guy, this is discontinued so I hope its the tubes
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Hello
The tubes would not be too expensive.
But that is not the point.
The shipping company screwed up and has to pay for it. The damage is probably greater.
You should also pay for it, even if you now have discreet methods that the sender has to report it.
That’s what Dpd does now.
They also damaged my amplifier a little, which is minimal and only optical.
I tried to claim it, but as the recipient of the parcel, I had no chance.
It looked quite good and was only noticed when I unpacked it.
This is even more difficult to claim when the sender is abroad.
You have to convince the sender first - that’s the most important thing.
The rest will take care of itself.
Just a tip from me.
With the photos, I think he will be reasonable.
I wish you good luck and it’s a pity about the good piece, it would look very good if it wasn’t damaged.
I also had my eye on it, but it was dropped again because of its technical side, so I can’t use headphones properly.
But otherwise it got great test reports and grades.
I think the tube could be exchanged for a Lm Ecrisson if it’s the same type as the Western Electric Ef 95.
They are a bit rare but very good and robust.
Don’t hesitate if you find a set.
It has gold pins that go all the way into the glass bulb socket. I have used it in the Little dot 1+ and it is very good.
It is also the best tube of its kind ever made.
It was originally produced for the Swedish military.
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Thanks and I agree thats pretty much it, the vendor is responsible of taking care of shipping issues, luckily hes a nice guy and is doing so
With the money partially settled, what hurts the most is to have an object of affection rendered to uselesness, this is my first broken anything since I started buying used and it really hurt I was so happy when it arrived lol im about to check out the tubes
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If you get a new one and it arrives intact, everything would be fine.
I would insist on that if you really want it.
But if you agree to take part of the money, you still have to make sure that the device is not further damaged.
It should be checked and repaired if something is wrong.
Keep in mind that tube amplifiers are fed a lot of current, which can be fatal for us humans, and can also destroy headphones.
The hum is said to be a minor flaw, which could be fixed under certain circumstances.
Since the reviews are relatively old when it was reported.
The We 408a actually belong to the Ef95 type.
So you can use the Lm Ericsson.
I found something here in a hurry.
The price is okay.
Otherwise, don’t buy used ones if you want to test whether it’s the tubes.
Buy new but cheap.
If something is defective due to transport damage, it was not expensive.
But a workshop should be able to fix it just as well. They probably don’t have any Ef95 tubes in stock, which is very likely.
The effort should not be great.
Look at the circuit board and see if there are any broken or loose contacts.
Replace or re-solder if necessary, take a few electrical measurements that should be at the set point and check for function.
This means 2-3 hours of work for a trained electrician.
A carpenter could certainly also do the cosmetic work.
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Thanks 4 da advice again I do appreciate it, and maybe its time to move this to the help thread unless its not a bother
Okay so swapping the tubes didn’t work as the issues remained exactly the same on the same channels.
the tubes look aesthetically perfect and im almost sure they are good and working, as the sound I can get on the left channel sounds very clean and good.
I have two more clues which could be useful
-
If the amp is turned off (with its switch) the sound doesn’t go through passively…
but if the amp is turned on with the pot off position, the music plays through the right channel anyway, which is the buzzing channel; then while turning up the pot, only the music (not the buzz) gets louder and goes from right to left until it only plays on the left. As I said before the music on the left channel sounds very good. -
the buzz volume is consistently the same, its around 70db~ and sounds very much like a 280hz sine wave is phasing with a square wave; aka the classic analog static sound.
I can manipulate this sound by getting my hand close to the surface of the amp, not anywhere else.
The closer my hands are to the wood, tubes or tube shelters the more distorted the wave becomes in that order; so touching the wood gets a distortion, the tubes more distortion, and the golden tube shelters extreme distortion.
this leaves me to believe there is a bad contact or something but also this
so im gonna open it to see if theres nothing visibly interfering the signal path, and then im gonna leave it to experts. (also dont worry im aware of the safety measures and not doing stupid things with live current)
Update: there are 0 shorts and everything looks perfectly fine except for the power transformer, the metal plate that holds it is clearly bent and partially detached, so this is 99% likely dead imma keep on with my life, maybe turn it into a mono amp for the lulz
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@MacDLaw , Bad packaging is a pet peeve of mine. Most sellers are both too cheap and completely ignorant of what it takes to properly package electronics. Bubble wrap, air bags and loose foam are practically useless for equipment with weight to it, they are fine for pre-packaged mixed materials already in factory packaging. That amp should have had 2” thick rigid impact resistant material formed to its shape with a heavy weight cardboard box capable of withstanding the impacts associated with shipping. That would cost several dollars to acquire and most people do not have these materials just laying around.
Having said all this, seek out a qualified repair shop or return to sender. If you choose to ship it to a qualified shop, invest in a proper hard sided shipping case. That is a nice piece, i am familiar with his designs. Don’t waste your time with bubble wrap and old amazon or baby diaper boxes, those are NOT appropriate for shipping electronics.
Sorry to see you suffer, i have been in your shoes several times, I speak from experience when I say that i feel your pain. Hopefully you can find a vintage electronics shop near you and a good wood worker who can help you salvage this beautiful Yamamoto amp. Good luck 
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The more you know right?
Ill have a toast for all the stuff broken by carriers, audio stuff which I consider art
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Tubes for my Taboo. Second set I’ve purchased directly from Decware, the first being that set in the background there in my CSP2. I have confidence now in the quality and matching from Decware and for lesser expensive tubes I find myself preferring these (still on the fence regarding 6p15p vs el84) in the Decware amps. Bonus.
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Hello,
It depends on what function the 6p15p has.
It probably only serves as a buffer, so it can be OK to be able to help yourself cheaply.
If it serves for the sound side, the 6p15p is not exactly great.
As it looks, there are hardly any improvements in this respect by other manufacturers, so the tube type has never been further developed.
Then I would prefer the El34 because there are more and better possibilities to roll tubes.
Otherwise, I think the Decware Toboo is really well made.
I also like the look of it very much. it is also supposed to be quite good in terms of sound, which is what you read.
I would add it to my want list.
Have fun with the two pretty ones.
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6p15p are Soviet Tubes they are really EL83 alternatives.
There are likely millions of actual NOS tubes warehoused in the ex Soviet Union, which means you can probably buy them for $5 a piece and they likely were all made at the Reflector plant, so there will be little difference between them if there is a “gold grid” version buy that. You’ll probably have to ship them from the Ukraine or similar, which can take a few weeks.
Some of those latter Soviet tubes were really good, so I wouldn’t judge them by cost, and they are usually so cheap there is no excuse not to own a pair to try.
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Shit looks clean
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@Deleeh @Polygonhell These are from the Reflector factory afaik and are the mil spec variety. There’s also the Orel City aka ORZJeP factory that made them and they sound a bit different apparently. They’re output tubes and my thinking why they sound good here is because Steve designs the amps around Russian tubes. I don’t imagine they’ll be as desirable in other amps potentially.
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Many modern components use Russian military tubes of various sorts, the WA33 uses 6C45Pi’s, the DNA Stratus/Stellaris uses 6N1P’s they were all manufactured to high standards, and they are readily available.
Using Pentodes that were probably designed as UHF/TV components like the 6p15p is less common, but pentodes can be better triodes than triodes in some cases.
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The tube genre is definitely not to be condemned.
If the implementation is well done, it can also be a blessing for tuberolling and saves the money for pointless overpriced tubes.
I’m behind that, too.
The Decware devices are really well made for their money.
That’s what the Vcap mod on the Feliks Euforia showed me afterwards.
The implementation is also good, but with the Vcap capacitors on the 6sn7 socket the sun has really risen and it copes much better with the cheaper/less good tubes.
At the moment I have tubes in it where the 4 tubes cost about 100$.
According to Chris from Vcap, something could still be done with the Vcap Odam.
Personally, I would prefer the El34 in the end because you can still adjust something to your needs.
But that’s a matter of taste, of course.
If the good one with the Russian tubes is tip-top, I probably wouldn’t want to change anything.
I would buy a second set in reserve and then have at least 10 years of peace.
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How does it sound w/ the Zu’s in your room? Did you try it?
Nice!!! Looks great.
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