Hi All,
I have owned a BHK 250 amp for maybe 8 years (?). I changed the tubes in about 2019. I listen maybe on average 2 hours per week.
I am noticing a severe reduction in fidelity in recent months. The female vocals are hard to differentiate, and generally I have to turn it up to hear detail and down because certain bits get too loud. There seems to be a sheen over the music. I have not changed any components and haven’t moved. This has been more apparent over the last few months and is now just obvious.
I considered my hearing may be getting worse, the tubes may need replacement (which I plan to try), power supply (there has been some construction a mile away), but I listen in the evenings …
Although my hearing has deteriorated as I age, I hear the same music better on other sources. I do have a passive power conditioner (Running Springs Jaco).
Speakers are Apogee Duetta Signatures (refurbed several years ago) - and sources are all digital thru a PS Audio DirectStream DAC.
Q. what are the characteristics of aging or failing tubes?
Yes, it sounds like the tubes may very well be the culprit. It’s a good idea to always have a second set on hand. So get a new set and put them in. If you don’t hear any change, put the new ones away for future use; you can try them again in a few months or a year. But it’s likely that you will hear a big improvement.
So after approximately 10,000 hrs on my original BHK Pre and M1200 tubes, I decided to buy replacements - Gold lions from Upscale Audio. These sat on the shelf for several months as I was too lazy to pull the cables, move the boxes and replace it all back. Meanwhile I noticed increasing noise and clicks when changing the volume. And I began to look at cable reviews…and streamer reviews…and even component reviews. But finally when I had to move some equipment for HVAC work, I bit the bullet and put them in. When the system was reactivated my jaw dropped. The sound was reborn and the noises gone. Try it - it is certainly one of the easiest and relatively cheapest fixes.
Hi Chris,
I have considered solid state. I actually had a wonderful class D amp, a Spectron Musician 3, but sadly the owner died and the custom digital amps were not to be found. After a failure, I decided to trade it in to PS Audio for the BHK 250 due to it’s MOSFET design. PS Audio gave a good deal considering the Spectron amp was non-functional. I actually preferred the Spectron as its sound was harder and suited my electronica music bent. The BHK is more fluid sounding and is very good, especially on vocals. Being retired, I am more careful with my $$, so have not upgraded the amp. It would take some $$ to get comparable sound, and also too busy to make the effort to audition a new amp. Thanks for the suggestion though!