Thanks all.
Kehut - yes, I agree on the dangers posed by over-driving and clipping. That hasn't been an issue so far even though I'm driving Totem Forests (not very efficient) with a Jolida 502B. Good news there from what I've read is that the Forest's impedance curve doesn't drop all that low. (as a side note the only CD where I thought I was starting to get some distortion is the Stones, "A Bigger Bang"...that is a loud recording and I usually have to back off the volume on that compared to some older CDs.)
My practice too is to turn on the amp 30-60 min before I sit down to listen. Sometimes I'll play a CD on repeat while off doing other things. Seems like the amp warm up result is different after a period of simply being on vs having "worked" during that time. FWIW I also unplug my equipment when not in use.
I don't know what class of amp my Jolida 502B is or what the various classes mean...I can certainly research that but if anyone feels inclined to summarize - that would be appreciated.
I'm not sure there's a concensus here about the original question. Intuitively, it seems like playing louder would work the tubes harder but I'm not a an electronics engineer. I suspect its true as several have noted, differences in hi-fi/home listening volume levels won't have a significant impact on tube life.
Thanks again.
Kehut - yes, I agree on the dangers posed by over-driving and clipping. That hasn't been an issue so far even though I'm driving Totem Forests (not very efficient) with a Jolida 502B. Good news there from what I've read is that the Forest's impedance curve doesn't drop all that low. (as a side note the only CD where I thought I was starting to get some distortion is the Stones, "A Bigger Bang"...that is a loud recording and I usually have to back off the volume on that compared to some older CDs.)
My practice too is to turn on the amp 30-60 min before I sit down to listen. Sometimes I'll play a CD on repeat while off doing other things. Seems like the amp warm up result is different after a period of simply being on vs having "worked" during that time. FWIW I also unplug my equipment when not in use.
I don't know what class of amp my Jolida 502B is or what the various classes mean...I can certainly research that but if anyone feels inclined to summarize - that would be appreciated.
I'm not sure there's a concensus here about the original question. Intuitively, it seems like playing louder would work the tubes harder but I'm not a an electronics engineer. I suspect its true as several have noted, differences in hi-fi/home listening volume levels won't have a significant impact on tube life.
Thanks again.