2. digital
  3. 1032024286

Tube life / Replacement Question -Capitole MK II.

I've owned my MKII for about a month now, with zero problems, and I love it. But I have a question. I notice, that when I have the unit in Standby, the tubes are still on. The expected tube life is 10,000 hours (roughly 14 months). Shouldn't the tubes be off in standby to preserve tube life? If the answer is to shut off the whole player - wouldn't it would take many hours to warm-up the player again from a cold start?
If a tube goes bad, how do you replace it? Isn't it hard wired into the circuit (ie, no tube socket)? And, no, I am not a technician, so I wouldn't trust myself with a soldering iron in my hands, working on a piece that retails for $8700 (U.S.). Anyone got any knowledge / advise? (Oh, and one last thing, I have no local dealer to go to).
louisl
celestialsound
23 posts
 
The tubes are on for a couple of reasons. One you mentioned, warm up time. The other is to actually preserve the life of the tube. It's coming up from a cold start that takes a toll on the filaments of the tube. The circuit is designed so a low level of current is always running through the tube. It's unlikey the tubes are wired in to the circuit. You would simply pull out the old tube and replace it with a new one . they only fit in the socket one way so you can't mess this up.
olmeda
3 posts
 
I have seen the tubes inside the player, they are WIRED to the circuit.
The company declares 10000 hours. Some more than one year only! Remember that in standby (see manual) Audio Aero says that only the display is shut down, all other circuits are on.
celestialsound
23 posts
 
I'm surprised. Point to point wiring is the way to go; but that's an incredible leap.
louisl OP
183 posts
 
Yes, I agree, point to point wiring is the way to go, I'm just not sure that it is for this application (ie, tubes).
Now, when I have to (or just want to) replace the tubes I'll have to pay to ship my unit out of town. Figure two to three days to ship to, plus two days to replace the tubes at the technician's facility, plus another two to three days for the return shipping. Add in weekends, and your looking at a minimum of ten days to two weeks, with no music.
In a email I received from the Audio Aero technician he states:

The two tubes in question are the 6021W. They have 2" wires coming from the base, not the rigid tube pins you see in most other tubes so they can't easily be used with tube sockets. They must be de-soldered and the replacemnents have to be soldered in place. By using a miniture tube that is soldered you gain many advantages over a standard tube/socket: Vibration has less effect on the tube, the tube is more rigidly mounted, connection noise is lower, the tube will not fall out or get damaged in shipping the unit. BOTH MK1 & MK2 use the same wired tube so user replacement is difficult. As stated in an earlier email, I have NOT seen a tube failure besides the one that had a slight hum in one channel and there are units have been playing for OVER two years!
If a tube needs to be replaced I can get it done and return the unit in 48 hours.

So, surprised or not, that's the way it is. I will say that the Capitole MKII is the most incredible CDP I have ever heard. It's a true joy!
More to discover