Dared SL2000A setup question

CCNJ

I received my Dared yesterday. I have to say that I was very impressed with the build quality of this thing. Very heavy and seems to be very well made. I didn't turn on yet so no comments on the sound yet. I am waiting for my tubes to arrive early next week. I have some nice rectifiers and signal tubes on order and can't wait to get started.

Now to my nube tube questions...Is this a self biasing preamp or do I need to do anything in that regard. When I replace the tubes, do I just gently grab from the bottom and pull straight up. Same thing for installing new tubes?

Thanks,
Chris

heiney9

Only power tubes need to be biased. Driver tubes have a fixed bias point and need no adjustments or concerns.

Pull the tubes straight, preferably with gloves if you have some. Also the old rectifier with the micanol base, try to grab from the base and not the glass. 40-50 year old tubes tend to become weak where the bottle and the base meet. The adhesive can get old and you could loosen the base so it's best practice to pull from the base whenever possible.

Good luck and happy listening!

doctor r

I agree with H9 on the lifting, but sometimes you might need to gently rock them a little will lifting. Just a little. You might want to hook it up and listen a little. It sounds OK with the stock tubes and then when your new ones arrive you will be able to really note the changes involved with tube rolling. Just a thought. That is how I ran mine for about a week and a half waiting on the 12at7s to arrive. What ever you do just have fun.

heiney9

Good call Dr. R, rocking a little bit does help. I also use DeOxit on all tube pins prior to using the tubes, even if they are new. It cleans and most importantly lubricates the pins. They go in and out a lot easier.

Also in my previous post when I said "tend to become weak where the bottle and the base meet." I meant the adhesive that binds/seals the base to the glass. The glass or base don't get weak just the connection point.

H9

CCNJ

They are tight fitting but I was able to remove one and put it back ok. A slight rocking did help but I was careful not to bend the pins. I will look into the DeOxit as I don't want to stress the pins especially on the vintage tubes.

I couldn't wait and did hook the dared up and gave it a little workout. It sounded decent even with the cheap stock tubes. Certainly warmer than my benchmark HDR but lacked some of the detail. I think the new tubes will give me the best of both worlds. Can't wait.