How hot is too hot?

I just installed a matched quad of gold Lion kt77s into my VH2. I biased them to 35mA and it sounds great. My old jjkt77s must have been worn out because their bias numbers were all over the place from 22 to 30. Anyway, I noticed my amp getting quite hot since the tube change. It gets too hot to keep my hand on the rear panel. Is this normal? Should I bias colder for safety? Thanks! -Feral

My VH2 has the factory JJ KT77 quad and factory bias. The amp runs much hotter than e.g. Revv Generator 120 (4x6L6) in similar moderate load conditions. Also VH4 and Hagen had quite noticeable heat dissipation with factory tubes and bias.

I play at home, so the heat is easily noticed.

I wouldn't worry about it. I've had amps that I could fry and egg on.

Hey just checking back in with an update. The heat seems safe, and the gold lions rip! The VH2 loves them!