Best temperature for optimum tube performance


Is there an optimum temperature range in which tubes perform best?
I've been running tube amps/preamps for over 40 years and have always placed a small, quiet fan in front of them to prevent excessive heat build-up (a modified, two-door antique silver cabinet is where they reside).
I'm aware that electrical resistance increases in proportion to increasing temperature, but am I somehow decreasing the optimum performance of my tube components with this strategy?
128x128rettrussell

Showing 1 response by rettrussell

Thank you one and all for weighing in...
As an aside, I drilled a series of 1-1/4” holes in the upper back of the cabinet to provide convection venting....the two independent top drawers hide those holes.
I did install a small, quiet computer fan but it just couldn’t pull enough air to keep the gear from cooking.
(I was petrified to see millercarbon had replied.... I remain yet unskewered...love to witness the dust-ups he provokes.)
The temp gun is a great idea....