VTL Tiny Triode Bias Question

Those were built by Manley and branded VTL(actually both companies belonged to the Manley family, father and son). Here's the manual for the Manley EL-84 Monoblock version(the only difference is supposed to be the faceplate and blue cover): (http://www.manleylabs.com/PDF/HIFI_Manuals/Hi-Fi/MANLEY%2035%20pm4.pdf) Hope this helps!

One more thing: The manual mentions leaving your amp on long enough for the tubes to reach a stable current draw. Make that 30 to 40 minutes(at least).

I will add one comment to Rodman's advice, which is generally accurate.

I own the Manley 50's, which are a variant of the Tiny Triodes. In my experience, for adjustment accuracy, you defintely do want the tubes to reach thermal stability.

However, with that said, if you have a tube that runs really hot or (worse) is approaching failure and runs on, then if this is not caught quickly, you definitely WILL take out a fuse (which is an odd duck as fuses go, at least in the Manleys). I have learned (from experience) that when biasing with unknown tubes, that I am ready with multimeter in hand when I turn the amp on, and I watch the bias current while the amps warm (repeatedly), and then in increments until reaching thermal stability.

I check immediately upon turn on (a really bad tube will exceed specs almost instantly), then after a couple of minutes, then at 5 minutes, then at 30 minutes, and then,
lastly, after an hour.

It is a very easy procedure, and doing it repeatedly as noted above is really simple.

Those Tiny Triods are great little amps. I remember when they were new, sitting in an audio store showroom. They had the Tiny Triods hooked up to a pair of Maggie 3.1s of all things. Within their power range, the Tiny Triods made music for sure. I remember being impressed with the soundstage. They were playing an LP of big symphony orchestra and it was in full relief, spread out in an arc behind the speakers. Not enough power to drive the Maggies, of course ... but nice sound for sure.