You can take the advice of the designer/manufacturer or you can take the advice of a random guy on an audiophile forum. I say leave it on 24/7 and replace the tubes every 12 to 18 months. This assumes you listen more than four to six hours daily and that the sessions are not continuous.
Best Way To Maximize Preamp Tube Life?
I would love to learn how to best maximize tube life. Tubes have a limited lifespan, of course. So when you're not listening for a time, is it best to shut everything off to preserve the "hours" left on the tube's life? OR does the act of powering off/on itself shorten tube length as well? If so, by how much? Something like "powering off/on costs 3 hrs of tube life, so taking a music break of less than 3 hours, better to just leave it powered on." Or 1 hr, or 10 minutes, 6 hours, etc? Where is the tradeoff point?
In my system FYI, I am running a Don Sachs preamp with 4 6SN7s and 1 6BY5 rectifier. Don says the preamp is only running the tubes at 40% of their rating. I would greatly appreciate some input from people with tube knowledge. Thanks in advance!
In my system FYI, I am running a Don Sachs preamp with 4 6SN7s and 1 6BY5 rectifier. Don says the preamp is only running the tubes at 40% of their rating. I would greatly appreciate some input from people with tube knowledge. Thanks in advance!
- ...
- 39 posts total
- 39 posts total