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When to power off a tube amp?

So I just got new tubes for my Lyr and really don't want to damage these tubes and want them to last for as long as possible. So I had a few questions and was hoping you guys could help me, thanks.

1) Should I turn off the amp if I am going to away for like an hour or so? Would that decrease the life of my tubes more than leaving it on that whole time I am not using them?

2) Should I let my tubes warm up before using them? If so, how long should I wait?

3) Is unplugging my headphones before turning off my amp necessary?

And just a random question out of curiosity, what if you use two different tubes in a tube amp? lol.

Thank you guys, any help would be much appreciated.
highrolller

Showing 1 response by jwmazur

jwmazur
191 posts
 
I would agree with Elizabeth. I was listening to music late one night and had fallen asleep in my listening chair. I was using VTL MB250 monobloc amps powering Maggie 1.6's. Something stirred me and when I opened my eyes I saw a shower of sparks coming from behind my right channel amp. It looked like a 4th of July display with all the sparks shooting in the air. I plucked the cord out of the wall and once I regained my senses saw the fuse holder for the B+ was charred.

I sent the amps back to VTL and was told the voltage rating of the fuse holder was too low and had caused the arcing. They replaced both fuse holders with ones that were physically larger at no charge.
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