There are ways to gently turn on tube gear, such as a soft-start circuit, relays that apply full power to the B+ rail after the heater/cathode has been warmed up and emitting, etc. If a particular design is hard on startup, it really should be the designer's responsibility to use such measures instead of recommending that the owner waste electricity, prematurely burn up tubes, or increase the risk of damage to equipment and the home if something goes wrong with an unattended piece of gear.
Tubes, generally speaking, are NOT like light bulbs, so they do not suffer nearly as much from the thermal shock of being turned on. While tube gear might take a few minutes to sound its best after being turned on, that time is typically shorter than the warm-up time for solid state. It really shouldn't be the case that it is better to leave the gear on all the time.
Tubes, generally speaking, are NOT like light bulbs, so they do not suffer nearly as much from the thermal shock of being turned on. While tube gear might take a few minutes to sound its best after being turned on, that time is typically shorter than the warm-up time for solid state. It really shouldn't be the case that it is better to leave the gear on all the time.
