Leave tube amps always on?


Mark, the owner of Linear Tube Audio, suggested I leave my tube amps on all the time 24/7 if im listenting every day, and to turn them off if not using for a period of time, a few days or for example we go away.  His reasoning was that it uses considerable more energy to turn on/off on a regular basis. 

Do others agree?  Kinda risky since these NOS Mullard tubes ain't cheap and will soon be gone forever.   
aj523

Showing 3 responses by hilde45

This roundtable is entering the "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin" phase.
I don't own LTA, so maybe that is a very special case. Can't speak to it.
In addition to fire hazard, tube life (both good points), my gear consumes over 100w when idle. I listen probably 2 hours a day, maximum, on average. This probably doesn't mean much, given the other factors, but at my electricity rates, the difference in energy use is $105 vs. $9. For decent tubes, that's the cost of about 2 tubes per year in energy savings. Over a few years, it would add up.
@rtorchia Glad you found something you like better. If you like the sound and looks better, that's good enough reason to change. But if the only reason you got rid of your system was because it was hot and awkward, it's clear (a) you could have just turned your system off when not in use and (b) there are other more compact systems using tubes, including by Rogue, such as the Pharaoh. Just adding that for anyone who doesn't glean that your change was not forced by the options out there. There are options out there.