2. amps-preamps
  3. 136341-96474

Leave preamp on all day, off at night

Finally had the funds purchased my first tube hifi component, an arc ref 3. Very happy with purchase so far but has raised a concern. System is in main living room - wife and kids listen casually through day - non critical listening. I listen (more critically) for 1-2h at night when they are asleep.
Im used to solid state components that stay on all day long.
Question- is it a problem leaving the valve pre on most of the day, on most days of the week? Is it really just a matter of burning through the tubes faster,  or are there other expensive delicate components in there that don't like being left on all day? Thanks in advance 
divesh
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
4,966 posts
 
If you cherish your tubes they start age from the time they get switched on, if the wife and kids don’t care about sound quality all day, get a small Sonus/Bose or whatever they’er called system for them.
And heat from tubes also effects the internal chassis temps which can age the caps, also the power transformer that is the supply for all the heaters can run warm, this is long term ageing. 

Cheers George
wolf_garcia
4,650 posts
 
Tube amps warm up relatively fast so I suggest turning the thing on when you want to hear it and off when you don't. To sum up: On, off...repeat when necessary...
divesh OP
7 posts
 
Thanks guys, appreciate your response. What you both say makes perfect sense, and is what I suspected. Will do, cheers, divesh 
More to discover