2. amps-preamps
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Leaving tube amps on.

This is a question I had for a long time. I know it’s not a good idea to leave tube amps on all the time because of tube life and safety reasons. But sometimes I don’t have the opportunity to listen to my system / music for hours at time at one sitting. Sometimes I can only listen to it 45 min - a few hours at a time during the day / night. So my question is would it be better to leave the amps on all day / evening and listen when I can or turn them on / off every time I listen even if is only  45 min at a clip. But to just clarify when I don’t intend to listen that day/ night they will be off. Does turning the amps on / off throughout the day / night do more harm than leaving them on ? Tube life , wear and tear on amps etc. btw I have the Audio Research Ref 750s. Ea amp has 18 KT150 , 6550WE , 6H30.  

tattooedtrackman

Showing 1 response by crawfishdaddi

crawfishdaddi
38 posts
 

I have a Raven Audio Osprey with NOS tubes and have asked myself this same question many times. The simple solution that I've come to is: if I'm running the amp, I leave it on for at least 1 hour. This is easy to accomplish because most albums are around 45 mins and the amp really needs 15-20 mins of warm up before it's sounding its best. So, 15 mins before I'm ready to put on a record, I turn everything on and let the circuits settle-in. Then, whether I'm there for 1 record or 10, I haven't short cycled the amp. 

Good Luck!

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