stupid tube question of the day

Samhar, i have very nice (and expensive) nos Mullards and want to maximize their life. I was told by the canadian dealer whose name escapes me to do just that. he seemed to know what he was talking about and i am happy not to take any risks with this lovely stuff. :)

Thanks all. Yeah for sure, no point in leaving tube gear powered on when you are not using it, esp. will NOS expensive tubes. But my issue is that I often turn on my tubed CD player, and listen for a couple of hours and know that I'm going to be listening again in 3 or 4 hours, and the question is, should I turn it off, or not?

Of course to be safe, I could just turn it off. But I'm curious if there is really just minimal wear on the tubes when the CD player is on but not playing.

Dgaylin, I would leave it on all day if you plan on listening again within three to four hours for the best possible sonics. If you turn it off before retiring to bed is the best route to go.

G_m_c

I've heard turning tube equipment on shortens the life of tubes but I hadn't heard anything about a four hour run time. In my amps and preamp the 9 pin tubes are always on to some degree (heater mode) and they and the power tubes in the amps are powered up and down by variacs to reduce shock to the tubes and extend their life.

Your tubes are very expensive I understand your position and was only wondering what the thinking was behind that specific amount of time.

Dgaylin-there are NO stupid questions, except for the ones you don't ask. I don't have a clue either when it comes to tube life. So what is the answer? Hopefully we can get some tube aficianados to chime in on this.
I have been a "solid-state" guy for close to 40 years, but decided to try a tube preamp with my S.S. monoblocks. It has been a "MAGICAL" experience and brings a whole new leval of wonderfullness and "ease" to the sound. But Russian-made 6h30 "super tubes" don't come cheap. At $300.00 a piece (x8 for my preamp) I watch my time on them, and don't leave my preamp on once I am done listening. I DO however leave it in "stand by" mode. And I know that burns up tube life, even if at a slower rate.
B.A.T. says that's not a problem, and that 6h30's should last 10,000 hours. But what about other tubes? What about the the scenerios you bring up? Tube c.d. players? DAC's? Amp's? Running "idle" versus running with a signal flowing through them? All very valid questions.
Will you "tube" guys please impart some of your experiences and knowledge with us tube newbees?