Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › MG HEAD OTL mkII: leave on/turn off?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

MG HEAD OTL mkII: leave on/turn off?

post #1 of 5
10/27/03 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 
Hello,
I've read that it's the turning on of the amp that puts the most strain on the tubes (makes sense)...
Should I just leave my amp on, for the most part, or is it still best to turn it off when I'm done listening?
Reply
post #2 of 5
10/28/03 at 1:45pm
Little River Band says, "Shut down, turn off, until the morning light."

Turn it on an hour before you intend to listen, and leave it on until you are done listening for the night. If you are going to listen for an extended period, say the whole weekend, you could leave it on. But I wouldn't leave it unattended for long periods. We don't need no stinkin' fires...

YMMV,
gb
Reply
post #3 of 5
10/28/03 at 3:39pm
This question is along the lines of what is the sound of one hand clapping? Been asked many times before and generally the best answer is that it depends on your listening habits. If you listen regularly and for extended periods of time then leaving it on might be best. Otherwise if you only casually listen to it or at sporadic times then turning it on or off is best. I turn mine on and off since I don't have any regular habits and it could be days between sessions so there's no point in wasting the tube hours. And as for turning them on and off... these are a piece of technology that has been around for decades. Some tubes are made for military applications (like the JAN tubes). So turning them on and off isn't going to be the end of the world for these things. It might put extra stress on these tubes but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
Reply
post #4 of 5
10/28/03 at 5:20pm
Thread Starter 

thanks

Sounds like I'd do best turning it off when done, I appreciate the feedback.
When I don't let it (them) warm up before listening I get funny buzzes and little fizzles that seem to go away after a while.
Could this be a result of lsitening cold, the tubes "finding their stride", or do I have a bigger problem?
And NO, we don't need any more fires here in Los Angeles...
the smoke and ash is bad enough with the present ones (not to mention the loss of homes and lives).
"I'm praying for raiiiiin..."
Reply
post #5 of 5
10/28/03 at 6:07pm
i'll just go with what's already been said, in my case i do alot of listening on the weekends so i leave my tube amps on all weekend, during the week if i know i'm going to be using it i'll turn it on an hour or so before and then turn it off afterward. but i think the general feeling in the tube community is that the less turning on and off of tubes is better than leaving on, but again others will disagree.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphone Amps (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphone Amps (full-size) › MG HEAD OTL mkII: leave on/turn off?