Should vintage tube gear be left on?

In preparation for my tube amp that is almost out of the shop, I have a question. What is recommended in terms of powering up and turning off such an amp? I usually turn my solid state amp on in the morning, run it all day, and turn it off before bed. Should I do the same with the tube amp or turn it off and on only when using it and when finished?

 

The way that I understand things to be from our many tube aficionado's's here at Steve's Prix is that it does take between 1 to 2 hours for tubes to properly warm up but you shouldn't leave them on 24/7. So I believe your methodology is good from the start.

 

The only tube I have is my pre. I leave it on all the time (as well as my CD transport and the DAC). A tubed power amp is another story: I would switch it off after use and probably turn it on every time I came home from work...

 

I usually turn the Scott on about a half-hour before I intend to use it, which is usually in the late afternoon or early evening, and then I always turn it off before going to bed at night. In other words, I only turn the amplifier on and off once a day.





Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

In the studio we warm the tube gear up for about two hours before we use it. I have a classical engineer friend that turns the tube gear on two days before a recording session.

Some studios leave their tube gear on all the time but I choose to turn it off at night or when it's not in use. Why let those tubes unnecessarily cook?

The solid state stuff is left on all the time. Heck, a lot of the pro audio stuff doesn't even have power switches.

 

I don't have a single piece of tube gear yet, but even further.. what if something 'goes' and catches on fire or something? The voltages inside tube gear are many times higher than those in SS gear, as well as the heat generated by the devices.

Seems to me (from what I've read) that perhaps the best compromise 'd be the use (if you have one) of a standby switch that keeps the filaments glowing but cuts the HT supply.

Tubes stay warm, you get the bonus of no 'cold starts' (less cathode stripping) and the unit isn't constantly pumping 300+ VDC thru.

Just my .02, regards

 

I've got a standby switch, so cold starts aren't a problem. Also, I would never leave the amp on when I wasn't home, so the fire hazzard issue isn't really a problem. And lastly, I always turn the volume down when my amplifiers are not in use to protect my speakers in case of a power surge or something.

 

Forget the standby. Shut them completely down. Run a 1200 watt hairdryer on the same circuit during startup to smooth the cold startup rush. Enjoy the crazy remarks from friends!

Vedric

 

Prix, Do not know for sure on your vintage gear but cj says right in their manuals do not leave tubes on all the time. It shortens tube life like crazy. They say instead of 2 to 3 years you only get 3 months!

 

Re: Re: Should vintage tube gear be left on?

Since it's been mentioned, what about solid state gear? I leave the SS amp in my 'big' system on all the time, I don't turn it off at night or anything, it's always on unless there's no power or someone turns it off (which doesn't happen).

The amplifier (the whole system in fact) is warm to the touch, but not overly so. I suppose this is to be expected.

I'd still appreciate an opinion though.. should I start giving it 'rest periods' in any way or is the current regime OK?

TIA, regards

 

Re: Re: Re: Should vintage tube gear be left on?

Most experts think that leaving SS gear on all the time is actually good for it. It not only suppose to give it the best sound quality, but from the stand point of the actual transistors it is harder on them to be switched on and off than to just be left on.

 

Re: Re: Should vintage tube gear be left on?

As I have stated before, this may be correct with power amps. With my CJ PV-11L pre, I would say this is nonsense. I have the same set of tubes (ECC 82/12AU7) permanently switched on for more than 5 years and they still sound beautifully! I guess turning them on and off every day give them more stress...

 

Re: Re: Re: Should vintage tube gear be left on?

tomcat, interesting, I am going to send cj an e-mail to try to get more detail on what they say in the manual.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Should vintage tube gear be left on?

Here is what I got back from conrad-johnson:
____________________________________________________________
Hi Tony:

Leaving the preamps and the power amps on at all times will drastically shorten the life expectancy of the tubes. How much better the sound quality would be with the equipment on all the time is open to question. Once a new unit is broken in, it should be up to full sonic potential in a half-hour to an hour. So, our good faith suggestion is, turn the units off when you are not listening (and, emphatically, if there is an electrical storm or a power outage).

And thank you for being such a good conrad-johnson customer. We hope you will have many years' listening pleasure!

Yours,
Ed Deitemeier
Customer Service
____________________________________________________________

I thought it was very interesting about the electrical storms. In another thread I told how impressed I am with PS Audio gear because a week ago with all my tubes running a thunder storm came up quick and my neighbor's yard took a hit (incredible noise). Everything was just fine, but in the future I think I will shut down during lightning storms.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Should vintage tube gear be left on?

Hi,

...... and if ya leave tube gear on all the time, eventually you'll not be home to power down your tubes when one of the lightning storms does arrive.

-Jeffrey

 

Thank you, Tony, for the Info. I have to confess that I forgot to mention that during thunderstorms and when I leave for more than a few days, I switch it off, too... And - as you may interprete from my previous posts - I would strongly suggest to switch off power amps after use (being tube or transistor).

Happy listening
Thomas

 

How about just unplugging the power to all components, when gone for a few days!!!!!!!!The power co. has told me that items can be taken out just by being pugged into y\the wall outlet.

 

Well said! Of course this is definitively the right thing to do.
All the best
Thomas