Conrad Johnson CAV 50


Just acquired this beauty from my father in law. I've never owned a tube amp, so not sure if I should sell it, or keep it and pay him. Anyway, a question for you tube heads. One of the EL34 tubes in slot V7 ( a tube which can have it's bias adjusted, which I assume means the power transmitted) has it's red light constantly on. I turned the bias all the way down and it still flickers. However, I noticed that my left speaker sounded blown/distorted. When I turned the bias up, the distortion decreased. The instructions say to turn the bias down/counter clockwise, until the red light goes out. But, if I do this, it sounds bad. So, my question is this. Is it simply a tube I need to replace to fix that problem, and if I change one tube, should I change them all. Next question is I searched for the EL34 tubes and of course there are a large variety of them. Any thoughts. To me the amp sounds little bright with the Celstion SL6's I am using, so any warmer tubes would be nice. Also, if I were to sell this setup, any idea on what I might ask on pricing? Thanks.
Roly
rolyasm

Showing 10 responses by jond

Roly,
That's a nice little integrated amp there I would recommend keeping it, and sounds like you have a bad tube or tubes, at least that's most likely. When did your father in law last use it, or re-tube the unit? If you can't get that info or can't remember and you don't have access to a tube tester I would simply re-tube the whole unit. Luckily the tubes it uses, 12ax7, 12au7, 6sn7, and EL34 are all easy to find plentiful and can be found relatively cheaply. For power tubes Genalex Gold Lion KT-77's are a great choice, a drop in replacement for an EL34 its anything but a bright sounding tube. I haven't had any gear that uses 12ax7's or 12au7's so I won't make a recommendation there. For a solid basic 6sn7 something like Electro-Harmonix, or Tung-Sol reproductions should work fine. Good luck and if the problem persists that's a very easy unit to get work done on if you're in the USA.
tls49 you're right just looked at the specs for the SL6, that's probably also why the OP is perceiving the sound as bright.
Roly you may also have another issue if it persists in both channels, perhaps a blown resistor or leaking capacitor, hopefully almarg or one of our more tech minded members will chime in with a better diagnosis. Or you can always simply call or email C-j on Monday. Either way good luck!
Sorry that should read if it persists in that one channel after flipping power tubes. Perhaps an issue with the bias circuit even?
Hang in there R it's gonna all be worth it when you get that amp fixed up and singing.
Roly the CAV-50 is an integrated so it's an amp and preamp combined in one chassis though it doesn't have an active preamp stage so it's really a passive preamp. So what I'm sure Jazz is referring to are the small signal tubes you have 1 12au7 and 2 12ax7's both types are very easy to find and plentiful. You also have 2 6SN7's that are probably input tubes of some sort for the amp stage. Rolling any of the tubes can potentially change the sound just like changing the power tubes will, so have fun and welcome to the world of tubes!
I would agree with that pretty much though I prefer the KT77 to the 6CA7 in my system. I had JJ 6CA7's still have them around as backups. I did also just put in a new quad of Psvane Philips Holland Metal Base EL-34's and they are quite good a bit more top end and maybe a touch more transparent than the KT-77's another nice tube. A bit pricey at $330 but I managed to pick up a "new" used quad for $250.
Jazz no confusion I read this on c-j's website regarding the CAV50:

"Because each element of an audio circuit introduces its own sonic colorations, a simple circuit should be expected to yield superior musical performance. At conrad-johnson, we have maintained a commitment to designing simple, straight forward circuits for audio components. The CAV50 elevates this design philosophy from the circuit level to the system level by eliminating the preamplifier altogether and incorporating the control functions on the amplifier chassis, hence the term "control amplifier". This approach completely eliminates the inherent colorations of the active circuitry embodied in a preamplifier stage, and of the cabling between preamp and amp. The result is a significant improvement in system performance and convenience, combined with a reduction in cost."
However re-reading it, it's rather confusingly written as there seems to indeed be an active preamp stage incorporated into the CAV50.
Jazz no mistrust was implied or intended dude I promise! And yes Roly any updates?