Audio Aero Capitole MK II: Performance & Problems

Thanks for the response, Lwatson! If the heater remains on, couldn't that also fail prematurely due to it's constant 'on' state in standby? Or, in other words, does the 10,000 hours of tube life refer to 10,000 hours of actual use (ie, while actualy listening to the unit)?

Louisl: I understand that the 10,000hrs refer to the duration the unit is powered on (the back switch), irrespective of whether it is playing music or not. If you read the manual carefully, it mentions somewhere that if the unit is not in use for a long time, to maximise the tube's lifetime, the unit should be powered off.
I suggest that you send an e-mail to Mr Combelles and ask him if the tube can be replaced by the user, and let us know.

Lall: I don't know who Mr. Combelles is (perhaps you could let me know), however, I have emailed Darrell (above - he says he is the guy who services Audio Aero), and here is his response:

If you plan to not use the unit for a week or more definitely turn it off. As far as the tube life, they should really last at least 2 years. I've only had to replace one tube in a MK1 and that tube had a slight hum in it, otherwise there have been no others that needed a tube replaced.
I don't recommend trying to replace a tube yourself because if you don't do it carefully you can damage: the tube, the pc board, and melt wires.

So, it appears that the tube is soldered (I understand that this was not the case with the original Capitole, ie pre 24/192)and, as Darrell states, he does not 'recommend trying to replace a tube yourself'. It seems to me that this should have been covered in the owner's manual.
I have emailed him back asking where I should send the unit for tube replacement. When I hear back, I will post an update.

Louisl: Jean Paul Combelles is the sales manager of Audio Aero company and is the key person behind all sales/problems/issues of Audio Aero. His e-mail is: jpc@audioaero.com
Best luck

The two tubes in question are the 6021W. They have 2" wires coming from the base, not the rigid tube pins you see in most other tubes so they can't easily be used with tube sockets. They must be de-soldered and the replacemnents have to be soldered in place. By using a miniture tube that is soldered you gain many advantages over a standard tube/socket: Vibration has less effect on the tube, the tube is more rigidly mounted, connection noise is lower, the tube will not fall out or get damaged in shipping the unit. BOTH MK1 & MK2 use the same wired tube so user replacement is difficult. As stated in an earlier email, I have NOT seen a tube failure besides the one that had a slight hum in one channel and there are units have been playing for OVER two years!

If a tube needs to be replaced I can get it done and return the unit in 48 hours.