Gotta keep in mind that how long a tube lasts and how long a tube sounds its best are two completely different things. Are there parameters you can test for this?
Replace tubes yearly?
I just watched a Paul McGowan video (PS Audio) about the wisdom of leaving your gear powered on all the time. I get that. He also said that vacuum tube gear is the exception and not to leave it on all the time. I get that too.
But he also mentioned that it didn’t make a huge difference since you probably should replace your tubes every year.
Is that true? I have an Audio Research LS-16 tube preamp from the late 90s or early 2000s. I don’t think the tubes have ever been changed. I’m not really a ’tube’ guy but this unit was given to me 6 or 8 years ago. As far as I know these tubes are original.
At one point I got curious about the different sound quality potential of different tubes and another Audiogon member lent me a set of tubes to try out. I could definitely tell a difference but did not think the new ones sounded better than the original ones. I mention this because at that time the original tubes were quite old and still sounded quite good. And still do.
So, bottom line is, is there any real need to replace tubes on a schedule of some sort. Maybe its different if it is an amp versus a pre-amp?
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@normb , Beautiful Shepherd! |
Hello Norm.. ‘Your are the third person who likes the Sylvania 6SN7 Chrome domes from the 40s or 50s.I have bought from Brent Jesse before and Andy at Vintage Tube services is great too. I am experimenting with my solid state gear, I have Pass Lab preamp, First Watt Sit-4 going into the Volti Audio speakers going to put a Modwright Analog Bridge between the preamp and amp and it takes the 2x6SN7 or 2x6922s with a flip of a switch…so should be interesting how that goes..https://youtu.be/t0s8_WLu_T4?si=6tg9eunJJ20Lr-q2 |
@thecarpathian Thanks. That was Hudson Shepherd, a service dog I had for nearly 6 years having rescued him from a local (DC) shelter a 18 months. It’s been a year since I had to put him down due to canine myelodysplasia - like ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. He helped me get over some PTSD. Loved kids. Never could eat a whole one though.
@silverfoxvtx1800 I liked those so much I bought a second set from another seller.They test well (I own a TV-7 D/U tester) and sound as good but I believe you said “warmth.” There’s just SOMEthing about the airy/soundstage from the lower gain (mu=20 max) tubes I prefer and I own a handful of matched pairs that just do it for me and my system. Off-topic here but some good reading: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/6sn7gt-6f8g-an-exploration-of-wwii-era-octal-tubes.890205/ |
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