Do I need new tubes?
Until recently, when I turned on my rig it immediately sounded full bodied and rich. In the last few weeks I’ve noticed it doesn’t reach this state immediately, but rather until at least after an hour. From then on it’s fine.
Is this a sign my preamp tubes are aging? My amp is solid state and always on.
My own experience with the tubes in my preamp has been that when I had tubes that were getting tired or sick, things sounded more fatiguing and generally worse the longer they played. However, my own personal experience has been that when I have been running with tubes that are all in good shape, the longer it played the better everything sounds. |
I have the same tubes in my preamp as well and they should last a minimum of 5000 hours. Depending on how they are configured, maybe as much as 10,000 hours. Oh and I have used the RCA Cleartops @dogearedaudio mentioned and they are great and not that expensive. Bought a matched pair from Brent Jesse for I believe $100. All the best. |
FWIW, I am running Mullard reissues in my McIntosh C220 for over 10 years with no issues. I run it about 20 hours a week, so that's about 10,000 hours so far. Tubes tested strong a few years back when the preamp was sent to Audio Classics for a repair. However, this is a hybrid design, so maybe it’s easier on the tubes.
FWIW, when I asked a Mac rep how to tell when I need to replace the tubes, he said "your preamp will sound broken", whatever that means. |
