"Tubes in preamps normally last 5000 to 10000 hours of playing time"
It makes sense to me that tubes in a pre-amp would have greater reliability than in power amps.
But is it all or nothing? In other words does the system sound the same for this long and suddenly die?
Or do subtle changes for better or for worse occur in the sound as the tubes age?
My guess would be the latter, but I do not know for certain.
Some high end tube vendors like VAC even offer automated health monitoring systems in their products to address this. IS this a frivolous feature that does not add value or the real thing? I suspect the latter.
The first case would not concern me much. The second would, in particular if many tubes are involved. I want to spend my time listening, not having to constantly check tube health if I think something does not sound right.
It makes sense to me that tubes in a pre-amp would have greater reliability than in power amps.
But is it all or nothing? In other words does the system sound the same for this long and suddenly die?
Or do subtle changes for better or for worse occur in the sound as the tubes age?
My guess would be the latter, but I do not know for certain.
Some high end tube vendors like VAC even offer automated health monitoring systems in their products to address this. IS this a frivolous feature that does not add value or the real thing? I suspect the latter.
The first case would not concern me much. The second would, in particular if many tubes are involved. I want to spend my time listening, not having to constantly check tube health if I think something does not sound right.