Well said Audiofeil...........
50% tube failure rate, I don't think so. I have been using tubes, like so many of they above posters, for well over 20 years, even when they were not in vogue, without any type of tube failures. I did have a Cary 2A3 SET amp that ate tubes for lunch but found out after the amp ate two tubes within a month the bias circuit in one of the amps had gone south and I was over biasing the tubes. Again like so many of the above, I too have had examples from ARC, cj, Music Reference, Cary, Welborne, Art Audio, Sophia, Atma-Sphere and Manley (who drive their tubes to the limit) and with the only exception of the one Cary 2A3 amp I have yet to have a tube failure. Atma-Sphere uses a 6AS7 power tube which can be problematic, two years using the same tubes that came in the amps they are running just fine, hot, but just fine. After learning of the 6AS7 tube having potential problems I even stocked up thinking I was going to need extra tubes at some point, not the case. If one is running away from tube amps because of the risk of tube failures one needs to look for another reason, better base, more dynamics, less user interaction with the amp maybe, but not tube failures.......
50% tube failure rate, I don't think so. I have been using tubes, like so many of they above posters, for well over 20 years, even when they were not in vogue, without any type of tube failures. I did have a Cary 2A3 SET amp that ate tubes for lunch but found out after the amp ate two tubes within a month the bias circuit in one of the amps had gone south and I was over biasing the tubes. Again like so many of the above, I too have had examples from ARC, cj, Music Reference, Cary, Welborne, Art Audio, Sophia, Atma-Sphere and Manley (who drive their tubes to the limit) and with the only exception of the one Cary 2A3 amp I have yet to have a tube failure. Atma-Sphere uses a 6AS7 power tube which can be problematic, two years using the same tubes that came in the amps they are running just fine, hot, but just fine. After learning of the 6AS7 tube having potential problems I even stocked up thinking I was going to need extra tubes at some point, not the case. If one is running away from tube amps because of the risk of tube failures one needs to look for another reason, better base, more dynamics, less user interaction with the amp maybe, but not tube failures.......