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Lifespan of NOS telefunken 12AX7?

Hello,
I just purchased a quad of NOS telefunken smoothplate 12AX7's from brent jesse. I have seen some 12AX7 tubes rated for up to 10,000 hours. These have been some medical grade tubes such as the mullard 10M series. I have some mullard longplate 12AX7's and 12AU7's that I have been using on a regular basis for the past two years. I would say they are getting close to 1200 hours on them. They are still going strong and sound good. I was just wondering what the general lifespan of a standard telefunken 12AX7 tube was. I am using them in a rogue ares phono stage. How many hours would you guess they should last. I understand there is no set number of hours but, I am interested in knowing a tubes useful lifespan. I tried to find some info on google but, I couldn't really find anything that stated a lifespan of standard telefunken tubes. Thanks in advance.

Andy
andyprice44

Showing 3 responses by andyprice44

andyprice44 OP
133 posts
 
There has to be a range of useful hours for telefunken tubes somewhere......

I just had my hopes up that someone had seen an hour use figure stated by telefunken on an original box or maybe some manufacturers literature. I understand this varies greatly depending on how the tube is used. How many hours do you guys have on your phono stage tubes?

Alan- that is quite a surprise. I didn't think a tube could last that long. Interesting.

Andy
andyprice44 OP
133 posts
 
thanks for the info Rrog and elizabeth.

I might call rogue audio on monday just to ask them some questions about the circuit design on the ares phono I am using. Maybe they can tell me about how much stress the tubes will be under.

Andy
andyprice44 OP
133 posts
 
that is good to know about the rogue atlas. I hope I can get at least 5 years of service out of my tubes as they are a bit pricey.
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