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Replace tubes yearly?

I just watched a Paul McGowan video (PS Audio) about the wisdom of leaving your gear powered on all the time. I get that. He also said that vacuum tube gear is the exception and not to leave it on all the time. I get that too.

But he also mentioned that it didn’t make a huge difference since you probably should replace your tubes every year.

Is that true? I have an Audio Research LS-16 tube preamp from the late 90s or early 2000s. I don’t think the tubes have ever been changed. I’m not really a ’tube’ guy but this unit was given to me 6 or 8 years ago. As far as I know these tubes are original.

At one point I got curious about the different sound quality potential of different tubes and another Audiogon member lent me a set of tubes to try out. I could definitely tell a difference but did not think the new ones sounded better than the original ones. I mention this because at that time the original tubes were quite old and still sounded quite good. And still do.

So, bottom line is, is there any real need to replace tubes on a schedule of some sort. Maybe its different if it is an amp versus a pre-amp?

 

n80

Showing 2 responses by oddiofyl

oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
4,046 posts
 

Never keep tube gear powered up.  It's a waste of electricity and dangerous.   Ever see a KT88 go nuclear red plate with arcing and flashing and sparking?  It's scary. 

I've had good luck with tubes over the past 25 years that I've been using them. I try to be proactive about tube replacement. If a tube is noisy or doesn't hold its bias i replace.   But every year ?   No way. 

 

oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
4,046 posts
 

I bought a tester when I started using amps with rectifiers and four pin antique tubes.   It save me from disaster with my 300b.  A rectifier took out the fuse on my tester (basically a small light bulb) and not my amp.   

Not practical to own/buy  one unless most of your gear uses tubes.  I had a guitar amp repair tech near me where I used to live and he sold tubes.  He was happy to test tubes , often times he would end up selling one or two. 

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