Is it a OK to leave tube pre-amps powede up 24/7


I’m relatively new to tubes in my hifi setup. Recently went from SS pre to tube ARC pre-amp and a Croft phono stage.

I have always kept all of my SS gear powered up 24/7(and still do), but I shut down my pre-amp and phono stage now after I am done listening for the day. I power them up at least a half of an hour before I put anything into play.

I would prefer to leave my tube gear on all the time, but am concerned about premature tube wear.

What would the tube folk here think about 24/7?

128x128crazyeddy
I don't think there's any one right answer to this question.  It depends on how hard the component is on tubes, how long the component takes to "gel" from a cold start, time between listening sessions, how unpalatable (or conversely, inconsequential) re-tubing is to the owner, etc.

For example, my tube preamp (with internal phono stage) sounds great after a couple hours of warm-up. My tubed DAC, on the other hand, doesn't start to sing until it's been on at least 24 hours.  As I'm primarily a weekend listener, I power things up on Friday morning before I go to work, ready for listening Saturday morning, and then turn things off Sunday evening.  The DAC doesn't sound terrible after it's been on for an hour or so, but doesn't get the goosebumps going at that point.  Neither piece is hard on tubes (a long time ago I had an Audible Illusions preamp that ate tubes for breakfast), and if either of these components were tube eaters my approach would change as I'm using some pricey NOS tubes.  Finding out how long the tubes last in your pieces will take....well, will take until you need to buy new ones. :) 

From a safety/power consumption standpoint there's nothing to worry about with a preamp or phono stage if left on 24/7.  If I could listen every day as you do, I'd just leave mine on.

Short answer is NO with any model. Not only it's unsafe, but it's useless waste of tubes and other circuit components as well. It's a huge tax on component longevity. 
@czarivey

Please detail how it's unsafe with all tube preamps (beyond the ultimate safety practice of just never turning it on at all).

I think I'll do some testing with my laser thermometer to see what kind of differentials are between "idle" and "work load"


1. tubes dissipate heat that dries out electrolytic caps. 
2. occasionally blown tube can blow other circuit components or even set circuit board on fire. 
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tubes worm up a lot faster than transistors and caps 'fill up' with charge nearly instant. so what's the point running it on even throughout the night?
turn on for 10...20min before playing music and enjoy.