[plonter]

I noticed that it take my earmax pro at east 2 or 3 hours with music playing to sound it best,so lately i just leave it on when i leave home or go to sleep.
with my headroom SS amp i feel no worry in doing so..but what about tube amps? how long can I keep it on? I don't care so much about tube life as much as i worry about the amp itself.
so,how many of you don't turn off you amps for a long time..?

by the way..I am sorry if i bring up an already discussed subject,and I remember that it has been discussed before,but I couldn't recall the specific threads.

 

[Frihed89]

When I am done listening for the time being.

 

[plonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frihed89 /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I am done listening for the time being.

sorry but I didn't understand correctly, you leave it on when not listening?

 

[Mehve]

My Little Dot MkIV routinely does extended listening sessions of 8-12hrs, but I'm also interested as to whether that's technically a bad idea or not.

 

[OutdoorXplorer]

WA6SE at most 6 hours per day.

 

[jeffreyj900]

I don't listen much during the week. A lot of times I'll turn it on Friday night or Saturday morning and leave it on until Sunday night. I do the same with my CD player which has tubes as well

Jeff

 

[Blackmore]

Warming up, like 1-2 hours before use, then 2-3 listening hours and when I am done, all equipment going to be switched off as well, cos next time I have time to listen, can be next week or even longer than that. Not sure, but I dont think its a good idea to leave your tube based gear always on.

 

[AudioDwebe]

With all my tubed electronics, I'll turn them on when I get home if I think I might take a listen, and shut them off before bed. On the weekends, I generally fire them up (both heaphone and speaker rig) in the morning and shut them off at night.

Some tubes, though, have such a long lifespan that the manufacture of the amp using it will make it so there is no on/off switch. Those are on 24/7 for literally years and years before the tube will burn out. And, oftentimes, those tubes meant to left on constantly are relatively inexpensive.

I would suggest you contact the manufacture of the amp you're referring to. Ask them your questions and see what they say. What's really quite awesome about this hobby is that you can frequently talk to the actual "maker and desginer" of the amp personally via phone or email.

 

[the_equalizer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioDwebe /img/forum/go_quote.gif <snip> I would suggest you contact the manufacture of the amp you're referring to. Ask them your questions and see what they say. What's really quite awesome about this hobby is that you can frequently talk to the actual "maker and desginer" of the amp personally via phone or email.

Indeed, that would be best. In my case, the manufacturer's manual for my WA6 specifically says it's best not to run the amp more than 8 hours at a time.

cheers!

 

[vcoheda]

i sometimes leave my amp on all day but have never left it on through the night.

 

[dave-g]

I usually leave the ASL MG Head OTL triode on a good bit, at least several hours a day if I'm doing non-critical audio editing, or just pleasure listening while I'm working. for those times I run the JJ Electronics tubes which are cheap, so if i forget to turn it off overnight, no big deal and the house hasn't burned down yet!

When I'm doing critical listening or audio work for a client, I usually roll in the NOS Telefunken's, and I'm pretty stingy with those bad boys. I give them about an hour to warm up, and then as soon as I'm sure I'm finished, i shut them down, let them cool and back in the boxes they go. Since they don't come around often, and when they do the prices seem to have skyrocketed in the last few years, I've got to make them last.

I am curious about some of the mullard re-issues coming out of Russia right now. So they might be next on the list.

 

[mrarroyo]

During burn-in I may leave a tube amp on for a couple of weeks. During regular listening I turn it off when I go to bed at night or if I go out for more than 30 minutes.

 

[plonter]

I just got a new 12AT7 tube for my earmax pro, and I want it to burn in so my amp is running for almost 2 days straight. also,the tube sounded very bright for the first12 hours and after that it became much warmer and richer...like it should sound.

my question is: what are the risks of leaving a tube amp running for a few days straight,except the tubes' life time.

 

[Happy Camper]

I've left mine on for weeks at a time. Tubes will be fine with steady operating temps and stable power supply output. Military applications would run tube gear 24/7 for months.

Uncle Erik has mentioned before, during his repair/rebuild of old tube gear, tubes aren't the only thing in a circuit. There are capacitors, resistors, diodes etc. that degrade with heat and use. It is those components that take the brunt of running long term.

As for the component performance, I've found that when I have left it on for multiple days, it sounds it's best. Operating temperatures are stabilized, expansion or contraction has stopped and everything is "tuned".

Personally, I turn it on friday after work and turn it off sunday night. I'll listen sometimes during the week but will turn it on and off for the listening session.

 

[dave-g]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif my question is: what are the risks of leaving a tube amp running for a few days straight,except the tubes' life time.

If it's a well built, well designed amp, I'd say that there is very little risk in letting it run. most engineers who design these amps run the tubes at a fraction of what they could handle, ensuring them longer life and many happy hours of listening. however, as we've seen on some of the threads on this forum, some amps aren't designed so well and could have very dangerous failures.

that being said, i also don't have my amps where the cats could get into them (and melt off some whiskers!) or curtains could touch them and ignite etc. So if you keep your balsa wood humidor or world-class fireworks collection next to your amp, your mileage may vary