Having had recent surgery and spending a lot of time at home, I was wondering how long a break from music do you feel you need to be taking before turning off your tube amplifier.I could leave it on all day even when not listening but that would be 12+hours/day.While my PrimaLuna Dialogue HP is gentle on tubes, the thought of retubing 8 KT150s is an expensive prospect.I usually turn the amplifier off if I am not going to listen for around 3 hours.What do other people do?
Mine are on most of the time. I was told it was start up that caused most issues and a larger percentage of tube wear? I have a tube DAC and Pre with SS amp.
Many tube amps have a stand-by mode in which the output tubes are off but the amp is still warm. My Cary amp have this. When I'm home and know I will be listening that day they stay in standby. When I leave the house or go to bed, everything gets turned off. I once saw my tube preamp go up in smoke while it was just idling.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.