Tube warm up complicating my listening

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by ghost rider, Aug 19, 2017.

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  1. Encore

    Encore Forum Resident

    OK, that's a bit of a different matter. If I know I only have 45 minutes, I will also not turn on my tubed system. But that is because of tube guilt, not because the sound quality is bad. AFAIK, turning on tubes is hard on them, although it depends somewhat on whether the rectifier tube is directly or indirectly heated.
     
  2. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    This is how I feel. If I know I'm going to have the amp on for less than an hour or two, I'll use a SS system. My tubes sound fine after 5 minutes and finer after 20 but I don't want to burn them out if I'm not putting in a session of at least two albums.
     
  3. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Do they make black tape that doesn't leave residue (or leaves easily removed residue) that can be used to cover lights/displays?
     
  4. 33na3rd

    33na3rd Forum Resident

    Location:
    SW Washington, USA
    Gaffers Tape

    It's good stuff.
     
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  5. Bill Hart

    Bill Hart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin
    @Ephi82 - with all respect, the standard for warm up may differ between an instrument amp or mic and a hi-fi amp. I can demonstrate, with consistent repeatability, over the course of owning my present SET amps for the hi-fi for more than a decade, that they take at least 45 minutes to open up. And they continue to improve after that. The same was true, to a less noticeable degree, with the many tube hi fi amps i've owned in the past. I can readily demonstrate this to any third party. I have nothing to promote or sell in saying this other than my experience, which is not a psychoacoustic phenomenon. If I can bother Vlad Lamm for an answer, I will. (I don't like to call him unless I really need to, but perhaps if I send an email to Elina, his wife and manager at Lamm, she can pass it on to Vlad to respond by email and I will post his response on the 'why' verbatim). I may not convince you, but I think it has some value for others. (no snark here).
     
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  6. 33na3rd

    33na3rd Forum Resident

    Location:
    SW Washington, USA
  7. I dont wish to be difficult or mean, but having read a lot of this thread, i would imagine that anyone wanting to enter into the world of our hobby would soon be put off. I have now been dissuaded from trying Tube gear. I am glad to have never had warming up issues. I very rarely have time to listen to more than a couple of albums in any one period other than times of illness. The thought of having to wait till my gear warms up is quite alien to me. I honestly admire your patience:winkgrin:
     
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  8. Otlset

    Otlset I think I am I think

    Location:
    Temecula, CA
    Maybe, unless they had heard the resolution, bloom, realism and just plain beauty of a well-set up tube amplification system.
     
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  9. Rolltide

    Rolltide Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallejo, CA
    Thank goodness. One less person to compete with when shopping for NOS tubes.
     
  10. Encore

    Encore Forum Resident

    In your case, I would also prefer an SS system. With either a standby mode or with sufficiently low power consumption that it could be left on 24/7.


    You don't have to wait for the tubes to sound good, although they will sound even better after a couple of hours. I still prefer my tube amp cold to my previous SS system completely warmed up. But with cold I mean after 10-15 minutes of warm up; waiting those 10-15 minutes is rarely an issue for me. I can usually time it so that I make some calls or do something else in the house.
     
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  11. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    You have the same issues but don't notice or care. SS amps take even longer to warm, because it takes longer, the improvement is more gradual and less noticeable.

    If this silly conversation is enough to keep you from running tube equipment, it really wasn't meant to be. It takes a lot of wanting to do it, effort and money. Hitting the power switch twenty minutes before listening or just noticing how it sounds better after an album side is hardly the down side.
     
  12. I see what you say; i guess my system is always powered up so warming is not an issue. My point was that i actually admire you Tube fans very much, but if a newbie read this thread would they be put of by the very discussion about "warming". I mean no ill by my comments and i have no intention to belittle your passion and dedication to the wonderful sound created by using tube equipment. Big love
     
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  13. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    my SS threshold amp always sounds good. And it has been maintenance free for 30 years.
     
  14. Thats called very good value for money!!
     
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  15. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    no hard feelings here, just saying that this conversation is all OCD. It takes the AC in my car a good ten minutes to blow cold air when I start it but that doesn't keep me from driving.

    The OCD talk is no coincidence, you need to have a special kind of sickness run tube equipment. It is not the right choice for most people, much like playing records. If you have an ear for it, it can be rewarding and better than the alternative. And dare I say...addictive.
     
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  16. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    10 minutes? you might wanna get that serviced ...
     
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  17. nothing wrong with an addiction. Mine is wine!!
     
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  18. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    nearly the same thing really. How long do you like to open a bottle before you pour the first glass? It's not that it tastes bad as soon as you open it, but it does get better.

    and...you kind of need to be into wines to notice or appreciate that difference. And if you are really, really into wine you might go on an internet forum and complain about how bad it tastes until you give it time to aerate.
     
  19. Ski Bum

    Ski Bum Happy Audiophile

    Location:
    Vail, CO
    My tubed pre-amp and phono pre-amp each take about 30 to 45 minutes to sound reasonably dynamic and coherent and have decent tonal balance. I warm them in advance, if I can, but listening to them cold is really not unpleasant. On the other hand, I would never conduct album shoot-outs, do system setup adjustments or do anything else requiring critical listening until they are fully warmed up.

    Wine is a lot more complicated.
     
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  20. Wine is far more complicated, but always seems to upgrade the sound of any sound system!!
     
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  21. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Horses for courses. I think of them a bit like a diesel car—appropriate for longer commutes and extended driving. If you are not going to get it hot, it's not treating the engine right.

    Tubes demand some restraint. Can't be switched on and off at a whim, but if you like to listen to a good number of sides, they sure can bring the magic. Also great for low level listening. Sixty-five decibels sounds pretty darned good on a tube amp.
     
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  22. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    People, before there was solid state gear, you know, in the 60's, 50's, 40's, 30's, 20's, people turned on their music with a knob, waited 30 seconds and adjusted the volume to their liking. What exactly has changed about that? If your great-grandma could do it, I'm sure you can get a grip on it.
     
  23. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Good to know!

    I just noticed that when I turn off my amp, it stays in standby mode, and that I have never even touched the actual power button. The one I thought was the power button was the standby.

    Yamaha AX-497

    So, Steve, is leaving an amp on standby the same, from a sonic perspective, as leaving it on? Or does it still take time from going from standby to on to reach peak SQ?
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2017
  24. Postercowboy

    Postercowboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhereland
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  25. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Any need/reason to warm up a CD player?
     
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