AYON KT-SX Tube quality (failure rate?)

Just to be clear: I am otherwise delighted with the AYON amp.

I have no reason to believe the issue goes beyond the actual tubes. That's why I posted here to get others to give direct feedback with their Ayon tubes (or if it goes beyond that).

@jond  @ghosthouse 
The only tubes I have run in the Ayon so far are Ayon KT88-sx. I have NOT yet run the Gold Lions as they were my "backup plan" in case the rest of the Ayon KT88s fizzed or burped or otherwise committed suicide.

@jond Ayon KT88-sx are called "treasure" tubes by the US distributer. I have a sneaking feeling I know what he means: First my treasure, then his booty as I buy replacements. But that is pure speculation on my part and not really what I intended in my post: I really just want to hear from others if they have had similar failure rates with this brand of tube... hello?

@paladin 
Your take on Ayon strikes me as quite harsh. What experience do you have or know about? I am very curious as to what lies behind your statement.

@ghosthouse
Indeed, I intend to replace the Ayon tubes with the Gold Lions after another few weeks. This will make for better statistics that might be skewed by "shipping" or "infant mortality", that should be ample time to experience either no or further tube failure.

After that time passes, I will run the Gold Lions for a few months to see if there is continued failure (I do not expect it — but I am wary, hence posting here.

Lyon does not use the term "automatic biasing, instead they describe an "intelligent auto-fixed-bias (AFB) circuitry that does NOT operate during normal listening. Biasing Ayon Triton III is performed in two distinct and separate phases as follows (my words, shortened from the manual):

1) Upon power up, the user can manually depress a detent on the rear of the unit. This initiates a process that tests each tube in turn and sets a bias for all tubes.That bias is then used for subsequent power ups.

2) In addition, each time the amp powered down and if the current operation time exceeds 45 minutes, the tubes are automatically rechecked and if necessary, a new bias is set for each tube. This is referred to as "bias reference control".

The operation of this circuit can be observed on the back of the unit via 8 LEDs that blink in sequence from V1 through V8. If the process passes without tube problems then the LED is left dark and the next tube in the sequence is tested. This process also means that the power button does not kill power to the unit, rather it initiates power up and power down, and under circumstances (a tube failure during the last power on, or a user initiated detent press).

@ghosthouse Thanks, yes indeed... I’ll let you know what more I find out. I am extremely pleased with the sound of this amplifier. If I could get my hands on some technical info regarding the circuit, I would not be so tempted to look inside... It is extremely heavy at over 120 lbs ...It’s weight is it’s first line of defense against the curious engineer who can lift 120 but who also seems to regret doing so afterward. :-)

@reynolds853 
I hear you! I thought I would sell my Rogue Cronus Magnum when I got the Ayon Triton III, but so far I can't seem to let go. They are both excellent but very different amps with different design philosophies. I love buying American (Rogue) when I can, but the thing is: I was born in Austria, I am an software/systems engineer and the Ayon definitely speaks to that!

Rogue definitely brings goods. Bang for the buck, but a well defined bang with all the emotion and detail... ;-)

I understand your fear, but I think the amp is likely fine. The biasing circuit will complain (rear panel LEDs) and not operate if one of the signal paths is sufficiently out. I would seriously contemplate emailing Ayon in Austria rather than wait on "Paul" in AZ.

I am currently running Genalex Gold Lions and am happy with them in Triode mode — my friend and my wife have better ears, and slightly prefer the Ayon-branded KT88s. I purchased 10 matched tubes 2 years ago in March and for the next month I ran the amp w/music for at least 6 hours a day. It took about 6 weeks before everything seemed to settle down. During that time, I swapped the 2 extra Gold Lions in, and two other tubes out 5 times, the theory being getting all 10 past the initial burn-in. Since then, I have swapped the shelf pair a few times, and now I really can not tell the difference. Each time I swapped tubes, I initiated the Ayon process for automatic tube testing/bias.

Ayon can easily look up your serial number and explain if your amp is able to run KT150s. (Mine was, and I intend to at some point after other projects.) Output power with KT88s is 2 x 100W (pentode), with KT150s 2 x 120W; KT88 2 x 60w (triode), with KT150s 2 x 70w.

I am a computer guy (life-long developer, but I’ve been around the "technology block" a few times, and have had many different roles), hence my interest in how this amplifier cleanly separates the digital power and digital circuit from it’s primary amplification power and circuit. I asked Ayon about this after a personal visual inspection of the inside of the amp (all tubes out and upside down) and got a good perspective of how they achieve this. (I am always impressed by the sheer beauty of 1st class wiring and sophisticated yet elegant circuits.)

Honestly, what I really learned from speaking with the real Ayon folks in Austria was that (this is MY take) Ayon would be better served by a better US distributer. I think it was "Paul" ay USATubeaudio who spins a good tale but offers little information other than "I don’t know yet". I believe that The cable company also is an Ayon rep, but their prices were not as heavily discounted. IWIth a discount, this is a great system. I also got the Ayon CD-07, and yes it is a wonderful sounding piece of gear. I dread the day THAT one develops the inevitable mechanical problems that all cd playbacks do if you use them heavily. This is expensive gear that is very well built, is unbelievably hefty (the amp is a beast to move), and looks great as well! I love it, especially in Triode mode. I am elbows deep into a 1-person sw startup, but after I get my first release out I will see what those KT150s sound like...

The first "professional" program I wrote was in Cobol. I hated the language, years later I loved C. Loved Unix, worked at Sun for over 10 years - the best group of engineers I've ever known. Alas. Retired a few years ago, but got mentally bored. Last July decided to invest 100% in Swift/iOS and the emerging frameworks around AR, AI, health, etc. It is a phenomenal time to be starting a 1-person software company for iOS platforms. And I am still enjoying learning and producing, each and every day (what the heck is a weekend?)

I also recently (3 years ago) went into both the hires digital (I had/have over 30k tracks I ripped ACC 320) and vinyl. They are both a pleasure, depending on the music... recently I have started a real treasure hunt in archive.org in recent Steve Kimock and also KIMOCK concert recordings. I heard "Satellite City" and freaked out on Kimock, Leslie Mendelson and the rest of the fluid members.

Agreed. This is why I am so enamored by the ideas that http://www.atma-sphere.com has implemented with their OTL amps. Tube reliability seems remarkably high with their gear. (I almost bought a previously-owned unit, but it didn't work out.)