Last May I bought a brand new unit and after a few days I had an issue with the board TP25 behind the left tube. A new board fixed the problem.
Yesterday again I had the same noise from left speaker and some electrical pops (similar to a bad radio frequency wave)
I tried swapping PSvane 12AU7 tubes (brand new ones matched pair that were working since 3 weeks without problems) with no effect.
So I tried to pull out and reinsert the TP25 board, after this the BHK Preamp wasn’t able to restart as usual…
a message “fault” appeared on display after 90 second warm up process
The blue PS logo button on front panel was lighting up intermittently
I tried a few times a complete restart process (switching off the button on rear panel and unplugging the power cord for 15 minutes) with no effect . Each time after 90 seconds warm up time the unit had the same issue in point 1) and 2) above.
I just sent and email to @jamesh hoping someone can help me.
I bought in a few months
BHK Preamp (this is the second time with an issue)
Stellar Phono Preamp (one sent back for IR issue and a second one sent for repair last month)
2 Powerplants P12
DS DAC
PST DSD
2 Stellar Amplifiers M1200s
I think to be a good customer and I love PS Audio brand but it seems I have too much issues…
I had a BHK 300 monoblock that had to be serviced 3 (yes, 3 times). After attempting to repair the same monoblock a third time, they shipped out a replacement. That one started making different, annoying popping noises as well.
Damn shame, I loved the sound of those monoblocks, but just could not keep them from breaking. That experience had me sell all my PSA gear, save for my P20.
BHK preamp, other BHK monoblock and DSDAC never gave me any issues, but repeated issues with that amp that had been sent back to PSA, serviced, returned, sent back to PSA, serviced, returned, sent back to PSA, new amp sent, new one broke.
RE: BHK Preamp after a full power down (such as swapping/changing tubes) you need to switch on the back panel power and then wait at least 45 seconds to one minute before taking out of standby. This has happened to me and has something to do with a check on leaving standby (I think it looks for an internal high voltage to be within range). If you don’t wait long enough for the HV supply to fully charge it will show this fault condition. Scared me the first time I changed tubes.
I’m quite embarassed. After reading about reboot timing process, with a little bit more of patience, the preamp came alive again. It fixed the issue of fault mode turning it on back after the power cord unplugging. Thank you @kcleveland123 and @jamesh, I was scared about “fault” message on display when already troubled by board card issue again. Why don’t explain this process on product manual? It would be so useful for roller tubes and people who may encounter a bad moment all at once.
It’s just another proof of how important is this forum!
Now back again with my pain: board card TP25 noise hoping excellent customer service of PS Audio would help me again.
