2. amps-preamps
  3. 194132-371

Would you buy a tube amp if you were unable to use vintage tubes in it ?

Not available or too expensive.

Hmm.., I don't think I have a definitive answer for myself, but I would do my best to avoid such amps. There is no substitute for great tubes, I guess, especially if you value sophisticated sound.

 

inna
inna OP
7,923 posts
 

Is this true that some Western Electric tubes can last one hundred thousand hours ?

larryi
4,264 posts
 

I would have some doubts about any such extreme longevity unless the tubes are run VERY gently.  There are some people who claim their table radio has been left on constantly for decades so it might be true that some tubes can last for a very long time.  The particular Western Electric tubes I run have lasted very long for me as well as for a number of other people who have bought similar gear made by Aldo D'Urso, an Italian builder who is very much into Western Electric gear.  

ghdprentice
7,770 posts
 

How long a tube lasts, it believe, is primarily that of tube design.

So for instance a 6550 tube will typically have a ~3,000 hour life.

On the other hand a 300B will have an expected live of 40,000 hours.

Many small tubes share very long life. 

I just recently learned about the 300B. I decided to get my self a backup set of Takatsuki 300B tubes (Japanese) in case their price went up considerably because of tarrifs. At $2K for the pair, a sizable increase in price would be a lot of money. Then I looked up the average life... 40,000 hours. Maybe I didn’t need the backup set... I’m over 70. Oh well. 

Secondary factors are how "hard" they are run in the design and if power tubes, how hard the amp is run (as in how high is the volume). 

larryi
4,264 posts
 

The 40,000 hour figure comes from original WesternElectric 300B operations and does not necessarily apply to all 300Bs.  Some, such as Elrogs were notorious for quick deaths.  As for the new reissues, it is to early to tell, but at least they have a long five year guarantee.  Another issue is that some modern amps really push tubes very hard to be able to claim high output power.  I would personally prefer an amp that runs the amp very conservatively.  Another issue is that a lot of American power grids deliver power at 120 volts or more and this can be hard on tubes.  I know tube people that employ step down transformers, one to as low as 100 volts.

inna OP
7,923 posts
 

How can I know if my amp is hard on tubes or not ? And what about 12AX7 and 12AU7 signal tubes, can the amp be hard on them too ?

I use PS Audio regenerator that puts out 120 volts. Well, I could, I suppose, put a step down transformer between the regenerator and the amp. How would the amp sound with 100 volts input, I wonder ?

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