Can a worn rectifier or/and phase inverter introduce noise?

noisepolluter

The preamp and power valves are all fairly fresh but I think background hiss levels at zero volume are creeping up.

Is it worth replacing the inverter and rectifier anyway and having the others as spares? The rectifier is original and the amp I think is mid ‘00s. (Which also makes me wonder if the caps might be getting old).

The noise isn’t intrusive and equally I could be imagining it’s increasing...

ecc83

"The noise isn’t intrusive and equally I could be imagining it’s increasing... "

That ^,  is what specifications and AC milli voltmeters are for.  The PSU components are not in any case going to cause hiss and it is very unlikely that the PI valve would.

Dave.

ICBM

It’s more likely to be a preamp valve if it is a valve at all.

Rectifiers either work or fail, so if it’s working there’s no need to change it - but a spare is never a bad thing to have.

It’s also not a filter cap - they cause hum or odd things like motorboating if they fail - and modern caps last a lot longer than old ones, there is no truth in the idea that they need changing every 10 years as you might read - or even for a lot longer than 20, if they haven’t actually failed.

noisepolluter

Thanks guys - I’ll get a couple of spare preamp valves and do some swapping. Does a rectifier need to be swapped by a tech?

Phil_aka_Pip

No, just by someone who's smart enough to power down the amplifier first