Running 6V6 plates at 424 V - is this bad?

[markmalin]

Maybe this is a silly question, but I started thinking about the fact that my D'Lite 22 based chassis, now that I've lowered the B+, still has the 6V6 plates at 424 V, and when I tell that to some people they say "...you can't run 6V6's that high!" These are JJ Tesla's. Should I consider trying to drop the plate voltage even lower? (FWIW they're biased at 22 mA) Is this really acceptable? Was the D'Lite really designed for 6L6's?

Humbly,
Mark.

[brownnote]

Maybe this is a silly question, but I started thinking about the fact that my D'Lite 22 based chassis, now that I've lowered the B+, still has the 6V6 plates at 424 V, and when I tell that to some people they say "...you can't run 6V6's that high!" These are JJ Tesla's. Should I consider trying to drop the plate voltage even lower? (FWIW they're biased at 22 mA) Is this really acceptable? Was the D'Lite really designed for 6L6's?

Humbly,
Mark.

D'Lite is designed for 6V6/6L6, if using 6V6, JJ's are rated for 500v so you're OK there. 22mA is toward the top of their range...you might try 16-20 and see if you like it any better.

What transformers are you using?
I know you got the chassis from us, but you sourced the rest yourself right?

It seem like you've been struggling with this build, so I'm curious...
What PT and what OT?

make, model, specs

[markmalin]

Hi Brownnote. First off, let me just say that I completely realize this somehow is my own doing -- the Brownnote amps I hear on the BN website sound awesome. The chassis has worked out great, too.

D'Lite is designed for 6V6/6L6, if using 6V6, JJ's are rated for 500v so you're OK there. 22mA is toward the top of their range...you might try 16-20 and see if you like it any better.

I just lowered the bias current and it does seem somewhat better, but I'm beginning to doubt my own ability to tell the difference. Thanks for the info on the JJ 6V6's. That's good to know they can handle that much power. They had been running at 444 V and I was worried about the high voltage so I dropped it a bit.

What transformers are you using?
I know you got the chassis from us, but you sourced the rest yourself right?

Yes, I did source my own parts. I used Sprague O.D. caps, but teh 715's, which I'm learning are not as well suited as the PS series. I have some on order (see other post). Resistors are mostly carbon comp or carbon film. For transformers, I ended up buying Heyboers for both, from Allenamps.com. Here are the spec.s:

- Model TO22 output transformer. 6,600 Ohm primary and 4/8 Ohm secondaries, roughly 22 watts. Paper bobbin, paper interleved layered windings, m-27 laminated steel. This is basically a Fender Deluxe Reverb tranny.

- Model TP40D power transformer. 320-0-320 @ 180 mA. 50V bias tap, 6.3 V @ 4.5 A heater and 5.0 V @ 3 A taps. Again, this is a Deluxe Reverb drop-in.

Actually, I just ordered another Heyboer OT from them that has 8/16 Ohm taps at 8000. This will allow me to try this 16 Ohm Celestion I picked up, and will also allow me to run 8 Ohm loads for both 6V6 and 6L6. I'm curious to see what it sounds like with the 6L6's.

Mark.

[skyboltone]

Actually, I just ordered another Heyboer OT from them that has 8/16 Ohm taps at 8000. This will allow me to try this 16 Ohm Celestion I picked up, and will also allow me to run 8 Ohm loads for both 6V6 and 6L6. I'm curious to see what it sounds like with the 6L6's.
Mark.

5881s or 6L6WGB maybe. I don't think you got enough oomph for 6L6GCs. I would defer to brownote or normster though. I dunno.

Dan