[bluenight]

Hi, i wanna learn the basics of tube amps and got some questions.

1. What tubes need to be replaced after there time span has run out?

For exempel on woo audio wa2 i see there are three diffrent types of tubes : what does what?

• Tubes: 6080 power x 2, 6922 driver x 2, 6CA4 rectifier x 2
• does everyone need to be replaced eventually and have a usage life span. Or only a specific some of them or one?

2. What is the life span in hours for the tubes . I saw on the eddie current page mentioning one with 5000 hours. Does it differ betwenn tubes or all have that time roughly?

3 Where can i get tubes online that ships worldwide? Is it hard to get replacement tubes?

4 Anything more i need to know?

 

[Dulalala]

1. Whichever tube dies, you replace that one. However, if you want too, you may choose to replace the tubes that are in pairs in order to get matched tubes.

2. That's dependant on the tubes. Some last longer than others. the hour rating is just a general guideline.

3. While I haven't used any worldwide shipping stores, you can easily find some on Google, like this one [http://www.thetubestore.com]. When it comes to replacing tubes, some are more difficult to find than others due to scarcity. However, trying new tubes is half the fun of owning a tube amp! Just make sure the tubes you are changing to are the same type.

4. Depends on what you want to know.

 

[buke9]

What is it you want to be told?

 

[bluenight]

Alright thanks apreciate the answers.

So a power tube, driver tube and recitifer tube all can die and have life span? And tube rolling on all of them diffrent tubes effect the sound? Can be many combination then.

How do i know when an tube has died? What are the sign? does the music you play go complete mute or is it a whining noise that i have on my old x-can v3 that tells it.

Also hybrid tubes vs otl tubes have diffrent sound qualities?

 

[Rhamnetin]

Hi, i wanna learn the basics of tube amps and got some questions.

1. What tubes need to be replaced after there time span has run out?

For exempel on woo audio wa2 i see there are three diffrent types of tubes : what does what?

• Tubes: 6080 power x 2, 6922 driver x 2, 6CA4 rectifier x 2
• does everyone need to be replaced eventually and have a usage life span. Or only a specific some of them or one?

2. What is the life span in hours for the tubes . I saw on the eddie current page mentioning one with 5000 hours. Does it differ betwenn tubes or all have that time roughly?

3 Where can i get tubes online that ships worldwide? Is it hard to get replacement tubes?

4 Anything more i need to know?

1. Any tube that dies. Though they can last a long time with good care, meaning don't leave the amp on all the time, and every now and then maybe use a q-tip to dab the pins with 99% isopropyl alcohol.

Power tubes = output stage of the amp
Driver tubes = drives the power tubes
Rectifier tubes = used in the power supply stage for AC to DC conversion

Only a 100% tube amp has all of those. Tube hybrids will not, and will typically have solid state rectifiers and a solid state output stage with tubes for voltage gain (though rarely you will have solid state rectifiers + solid state voltage gain + tube output).

2. Tube lifespan depends on how hard the amp pushes them, and different tubes have different lifespans.

3. Not sure about worldwide but I use thetubedebot and upscaleaudio the most.

4. Yup, I'll discuss it below.

Alright thanks apreciate the answers.

So a power tube, driver tube and recitifer tube all can die and have life span? And tube rolling on all of them diffrent tubes effect the sound? Can be many combination then.

How do i know when an tube has died? What are the sign? does the music you play go complete mute or is it a whining noise that i have on my old x-can v3 that tells it.

Also hybrid tubes vs otl tubes have diffrent sound qualities?

Tube rolling all kinds of tubes will indeed change the sound.

I guess if you notice severe sound quality degradation, that means the tube is dying. And when it stops lighting up then you know it's dead.

As for tube hybrid vs OTL (I briefly discussed the former above), and not to mention OTC tube amps (output transformer coupled), it cannot be said that they generally have different sound qualities. The constant here is that OTL tube amps have high output impedance, so should only be used with high impedance headphones (hundreds of ohms). They lack the power for low impedance headphones and will be very noisy.

Tube hybrid amps use solid state components so can easily be tweaked by the manufacturer to sound however they want. Same for OTC tube amps even, for which tube rolling can greatly affect the sound but it goes beyond that since amps can run the tubes differently.

One last thing I'll say in this post is that the vast majority of headphone amps do not run tubes within their recommended specifications, which can be found in the manual for a tube (here is one for example). Either they don't know what they're doing or just don't really care, or both.

 

[bluenight]

1. Any tube that dies. Though they can last a long time with good care, meaning don't leave the amp on all the time, and every now and then maybe use a q-tip to dab the pins with 99% isopropyl alcohol.

Power tubes = output stage of the amp
Driver tubes = drives the power tubes
Rectifier tubes = used in the power supply stage for AC to DC conversion

Only a 100% tube amp has all of those. Tube hybrids will not, and will typically have solid state rectifiers and a solid state output stage with tubes for voltage gain (though rarely you will have solid state rectifiers + solid state voltage gain + tube output).

2. Tube lifespan depends on how hard the amp pushes them, and different tubes have different lifespans.

3. Not sure about worldwide but I use thetubedebot and upscaleaudio the most.

4. Yup, I'll discuss it below.



Tube rolling all kinds of tubes will indeed change the sound.

I guess if you notice severe sound quality degradation, that means the tube is dying. And when it stops lighting up then you know it's dead.

As for tube hybrid vs OTL (I briefly discussed the former above), and not to mention OTC tube amps (output transformer coupled), it cannot be said that they generally have different sound qualities. The constant here is that OTL tube amps have high output impedance, so should only be used with high impedance headphones (hundreds of ohms). They lack the power for low impedance headphones and will be very noisy.

Tube hybrid amps use solid state components so can easily be tweaked by the manufacturer to sound however they want. Same for OTC tube amps even, for which tube rolling can greatly affect the sound but it goes beyond that since amps can run the tubes differently.

One last thing I'll say in this post is that the vast majority of headphone amps do not run tubes within their recommended specifications, which can be found in the manual for a tube (here is one for example). Either they don't know what they're doing or just don't really care, or both.

I have ordered a new tube for my x-can v3 hp amp (bought around 2007) that has strange noises and whining sounds going on from time to time. Never replaced the tube because i dident know anything about tubes and life span which i know now I thought it could be the electronics that could be faulty.

Any advice how to place the pins right on place? No soldering needed?
Got me this tube : E88CC/6922 - TAD Premium Selected (balanced)https://www.svalander.se/?ma=get_image&id=18156

X-can v3 is a solid state amp with an tube outputhttps://www.head-fi.org/showcase/musical-fidelity-x-can-v3.12248/

Some inside pics from other member. Have never opened it myself yet. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/x-can-v3-tube-replacement.299519/

 

[Rhamnetin]

I have ordered a new tube for my x-can v3 hp amp (bought around 2007) that has strange noises and whining sounds going on from time to time. Never replaced the tube because i dident know anything about tubes and life span which i know now I thought it could be the electronics that could be faulty.

Any advice how to place the pins right on place? No soldering needed?
Got me this tube : E88CC/6922 - TAD Premium Selected (balanced)https://www.svalander.se/?ma=get_image&id=18156

X-can v3 is a solid state amp with an tube outputhttps://www.head-fi.org/showcase/musical-fidelity-x-can-v3.12248/

Some inside pics from other member. Have never opened it myself yet. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/x-can-v3-tube-replacement.299519/

Tube sockets are plug and play, and there's only one way to insert tubes as far as I know (I haven't tried every type of tube) since they're keyed so you can't go wrong.

I've never heard a tube whine either. There can be a grainy noisy sound, due to microphonics, but I've never heard whining.

 

[buke9]

Whining is not a tube but more likely AC power.
Edit: I guess I should say usually not a tube but they can do some weird things sometimes.

 

[bluenight]

Ok thanks. Just have to swap it out to see if its solves the noise problems.

 

[Nik74]

One last thing I'll say in this post is that the vast majority of headphone amps do not run tubes within their recommended specifications, which can be found in the manual for a tube (here is one for example). Either they don't know what they're doing or just don't really care, or both.

That is very interesting. So given the 6SN7 example link, would you mind mentioning an amp that doesnt run its 6sn7 to spec? And what are the consequences of this, shorter tube life, possible damage to cans or?

 

[Rhamnetin]

That is very interesting. So given the 6SN7 example link, would you mind mentioning an amp that doesnt run its 6sn7 to spec? And what are the consequences of this, shorter tube life, possible damage to cans or?

Tube amps generally won't run the tubes past their max rating so lifespan won't be negatively effected and there can't be damage to headphones. In the Characteristics and Typical Operation section of that sheet, you can see a list of voltages and power ratings that are recommended for different uses. The problem with most tube amps is that they run the tube far lower than those values. So the real question is, what is an amp that runs 6SN7's to spec? The only manufacturers I would expect to run tubes within specification are:

- Audio Note
- Apex HiFi
- HeadAmp
- Mjolnir-Audio
- Quad (maybe)
- Manley Labs (maybe)
- Bottlehead (maybe)

Not sure I'd expect anyone else to run tubes fully within specification.

 

[tomb]

Tube amps generally won't run the tubes past their max rating so lifespan won't be negatively effected and there can't be damage to headphones. In the Characteristics and Typical Operation section of that sheet, you can see a list of voltages and power ratings that are recommended for different uses. The problem with most tube amps is that they run the tube far lower than those values. So the real question is, what is an amp that runs 6SN7's to spec? The only manufacturers I would expect to run tubes within specification are:

- Audio Note
- Apex HiFi
- HeadAmp
- Mjolnir-Audio
- Quad (maybe)
- Manley Labs (maybe)
- Bottlehead (maybe)

Not sure I'd expect anyone else to run tubes fully within specification.

No offense, but you should probably qualify such a sweeping claim a bit further.

What I've noticed is that tube hybrids are most often the culprit in running tubes lower than spec. The reason is obvious: most solid-state components are not rated for the 200V+ that many tubes use. So, if you don't want to add the complication of separate power supplies, it's usually easier to reduce the voltage on the tube. To be sure, there are solid state devices out there that are rated for 200+, but they are not plentiful. In particular, the use of opamps pretty much guarantees low voltage.

I suspect that when it comes to OTC or OTL headphone amps, there are many more mfrs than you list that use the tubes within their rated specs.