[pkshiu]

So my very first tube amp arrived. An audio Space mini-Galaxy I !! Since I have no experience with tube amps at all, I hope you fellow head-fi'ers can help me take care and get the most out of this thing.

For example:
1) break-in period -- I assume that's needed,
2) heat -- I had it on for about two hours and it got quite warm/hot. Should I not run it for too long?
3) care of the tubes -- it has EL84x4 and ECC83x2 on it. How (physically) fragile are these? Cleaning and dusting care?

Any other advice?

I'll get some pics up later, of course. I tried it with my 100 hours new K701. Compare to my two other "amps", the headphone out of an old Onkyo entry level receiver, and the Presonus CS headphone out, I'd say the K701 already sounds a bit better with the mini-galaxy. The Onkyo is the worst. The CS is, different. It also drives my old CSW moviework bookshelf (same as the old emsemble satellites I believe) speakers quite well. Can't wait to put it thru its paces.

P.K.

 

[ClieOS]

I guess you haven't read adhoc's excellent Tube FAQ on the sticky? It pretty much cover all of your questions.

1) I personally don't break-in my amp on purpose, I'll just let it break-in naturally in normal usage.
2) Place you amp in a place with good air circulation. It is normal for tube amp to get hot (too cold and your tube won't work anymore). In full working condition (without active cooling), mine can get so hot I can only touch the outer casing for less than 3 sec. If you like, you can place it in an air conditioned room or close to a fan in room temp.
3) You can get your answer from the FAQ, go and read it.

 

[jamato8]

The real killer of tube equipment is heat. If I have tube equipment that runs hot I use a small fan and it cools it great. Heat has always been the culprit in tube related electronics and it is one reason transistors were so highly touted as heat for many translates to ineffiency, which is often true but I love tubes and a fan can work wonders at getting rid of that stored heat that degrades capacitors and shortens the life of the tube.

 

[Asr]

Don't treat tube amps like a light switch. And when turning off, let the tubes cool for at least a few minutes before turning back on.

Don't drive tube amps without a load - that includes a source signal and plugged-in headphones. And turn the volume all the way down before swapping out headphones.

Tube amps make great hand-warmers.

 

[pkshiu]

Thanks guys for the tips. Believe it or not I started my hobby electronics study on tubes when I was a kid. That placed my age, huh? My main "surprise" and concern is the heat issue. I have the amp placed pretty much in the open on my desk. Since avoiding over heating and reducing power cycling are inversely related, I need to figure this out. I'll play with placement and air circulation a bit more and see what happens. For example, I had been breaking in the K701 continously with the CS for a few days. Now I don't want to do that with the tube amp.