Conrad Johnson actually has a recommended tube replacement schedule for all of their gear. I have a CT5 and they recommend replacement of its 6H30p tubes every 1500 hours or so for best performance. My ears confirm this.
Tubes going bad???
Do tubes “go bad” slowly? If so, how do you detect when they’re “going bad”?
Some years ago I had a lesser tube system than I have today and was not so critical in my listening. As I recall, there came the point where I obviously needed to re-tube, my system sounded awful.
Moving forward, I’ve stepped up significantly in my equipment (Conrad Johnson’s Premier 16LS and Premier 12 mono’s)+ other tube gear. With consideration of the pursuit of system optimization (upgrades, tweaks, placement, etc.), how do I know if my tubes are performing optimally - sounding as good as it possibly can? If tubes do degrade slowly they may only be 97% today, 95% next month, 92% a month or so later at which time it becomes apparent it’s time to re-tube. If this is the case, I’ll have gone through a period of less than optimal tube performance that I did not catch on to until it became very apparent.
So, do tubes go bad instantly or is it a slower process that needs monitoring?
Some years ago I had a lesser tube system than I have today and was not so critical in my listening. As I recall, there came the point where I obviously needed to re-tube, my system sounded awful.
Moving forward, I’ve stepped up significantly in my equipment (Conrad Johnson’s Premier 16LS and Premier 12 mono’s)+ other tube gear. With consideration of the pursuit of system optimization (upgrades, tweaks, placement, etc.), how do I know if my tubes are performing optimally - sounding as good as it possibly can? If tubes do degrade slowly they may only be 97% today, 95% next month, 92% a month or so later at which time it becomes apparent it’s time to re-tube. If this is the case, I’ll have gone through a period of less than optimal tube performance that I did not catch on to until it became very apparent.
So, do tubes go bad instantly or is it a slower process that needs monitoring?