Warm Tubes

I think it depends on the gear itself and not so much a general rule.

The designer of my eXemplar Exception II recommends a 20-30 minute warm up before playing music through it and turning it off when not in use. Blue Circle makes a similar recommendation.

However, with some tubed gear I can perceive an improvement if it's left on continuously for a day or longer.

I use a mish mash policy. My tube DAC stays on all the time, but my tube preamp and amp get turned on Friday night if I plan on listening all weekend. Then Sunday night they get shut down until next time.

Most tube gear I've used sound pretty good with 10-15 minutes of warm up. Solid state stuff can take MUCH longer, which is why I leave my solid state stuff (preamp and CD player) on all the time.

Most tube equipment benefits from being turned off when not in use (saves tube wear and other component deterioration due to excessive heat such as can be generated in tube amps) and a warmup period before serious listening. I've found with my stuff that 30 minutes is plenty. There are amps, pre-amps and DAC's that have a "rest" position which reduce current to a minimum and extend tube life, however, when you think about it if you only have one piece with a rest function you still have to wait for the other stuff to warm up. The are also a few DAC's and pre-amps that place minimal demand on their tubes and can be left on 24/7 (I have and EAR which will give me up to 5 years per set when left on 24/7).

I owned cj prem 16 and prem 8a's and Larry1 is correct. After 10-15 minutes the tubes sound fine. Leave them on all day and you will be replacing tubes very quickly

Ditto. 10-15 minutes here. By cartidge takes longer to "warm up" (4 sides of an LP) than my tube pre and tube amp do. Actually the cart is "mostly" ready-to-go after about 7 minutes on the first side, but it sounds a little "flat" and "lifeless" until about 4 plays. After which it starts to sound way more "liquid." But that is probably my POS Music Hall Tracker cart ($79 Goldring Elan OEM?) more than anything else.

I just switched from an Audio Research LS-9 pre (solid state) to a Rogue Audio Magnum 66 (tube). Three things dramatically improved: power-I couldn't believe how much more visceral ooomph was allowed to flow through the speakers! Detail- a nice jump in finesse on strings, cymbals, etc. Warmth- the music sounds more live and is completely non-fatiguing to hear.

Some tube preamps suggest you don't leave them on, such as the Rogue. They use outbaord power supply and a '2 stage' startup with a gentle start for the tubes. To me, the pre sounds fabulous from the get go! As good when turned on as an hour later.

Hi Dave,

If you get the 17LS you'll be in for a treat!

When not listening unit is in standby. When you want to listen press mute button on remote wait till mute button clicks off turn on your amps wait 20 min and its good to go.

Good Luck!

Thanks all, learned alot. The more I read about tubes the more interested it's becoming. Was just reading a similar question on SS on leaving power on 24/7 vice shutting down, unlike in this posting, opinions are all over. Take care, Dave