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stupid tube question of the day

Hi all.

Do tubes get consumed at the same rate when the system is on but not playing music, or does playing music cause faster consumption of the tube.

My guess is that for tube amps, definitely faster when playing music. But what about CD players with tubes in them or preamps?

Thanks.

--dan
dgaylin
sebrof's avatar
sebrof
735 posts
 
Good question I think.
I would guess that for my Class A running amp it does not matter because they're full on at all times. But PP class A/B?My guess is that the bigger the input signal the more work they're doing and the faster they wear out.
jeffreybehr's avatar
jeffreybehr
805 posts
 
Generally, tubes do indeed get consumed just being turned on. There MAY be a tiny difference in consumption between classes of operation.

I do NOT leave my tubed equipment turned on. If one does, three- to four-thousand hours of goodness get used in half a year.
.
g_m_c
443 posts
 
i run my tube amps 4 hours max. if i want to keep going, i turn them off for 30 minutes then back on.
samhar
1,034 posts
 
G_m_c

Why is that?
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