[MWSVette]

  Yea that's the reason why I asked, as I have not gotten real tubes for the MJ2 yet and have no other experience with Schiit's valve devices yet so don't know how they are advised to be handled, if they can be turned on indefinitely like their SS ones can or if they should be controlled.

 
Tubes have a limited life much like a light bulb.  They generally last approximately 5000 to 10000 hrs.
 
The amp itself will not be harmed by being left on.  But you will be shortening the tube life...

 

[jrflanne]

I leave my Valhalla 2 on all the time. I've had it for a couple of years now and the tubes are ok. I turn it off occasionally but not generally out of habit. 

 

[Vigrith]

  The amp itself will not be harmed by being left on.

 
That was the answer I was looking for yea, regular "wear and tear" applying to tubes much like everything else is something I'm aware of as I've said before.

 

[FrivolsListener]

 
I leave my Valhalla 2 on all the time. I've had it for a couple of years now and the tubes are ok. I turn it off occasionally but not generally out of habit. 

 
Cycling power on tube circuits can weaken filaments because of the inrush current.  Presumably Jason & Co have designed to work around that.

 

[Torq]

   
Cycling power on tube circuits can weaken filaments because of the inrush current.  Presumably Jason & Co have designed to work around that.

Hell, when I had Sophia 300Bs in my WA5-LE you could hear them mechanically expanding and contracting as they warmed up ... from across the room ... the little tink-tink sounds of tiny wires being stretched was quite pretty but a little unnerving ... so there are definite mechanical factors at work on top of that!

 

[MothAudio]

 Quote:

 
Hell, when I had Sophia 300Bs in my WA5-LE you could hear them mechanically expanding and contracting as they warmed up ... from across the room ... the little tink-tink sounds of tiny wires being stretched was quite pretty but a little unnerving ... so there are definite mechanical factors at work on top of that!

 
Any experience with the JJ/Tesla 300b? Thinking about trying their 2a3-40 in my Moth.

 

[Torq]

   
Any experience with the JJ/Tesla 300b? Thinking about trying their 2a3-40 in my Moth.

No, sadly not.
 
I had Tesla EL34s in my old Sonic Frontiers Anthem Amp 1, and those were very good indeed ... but not really comparable ... really only mentioning it because I happen to put the thing up for sale last night and it was the first time I'd see the name "Tesla" on a tube in a very long time (it's been in storage for years).

 

[rtaylor76]

Cycling power on tube circuits can weaken filaments because of the inrush current.  Presumably Jason & Co have designed to work around that.

Not unless you have a Variac.

Standby switches, that switch on an off B+ extend the life of tubes by proper use. You see, when you switch Standby on (B+ off), the filament is free to turn on and warm the tube up. Then you can switch Standby off (B+ on) to get the amp going. Once warmed up, you can turn Standby on or off as you need without having to subject the filament to in rush current. The tube should last longer, even if kept constantly on. Just like a standard incandescent light bulb will last longer if turned on and never turned off. Most tube guitar amps have this and I would say only about half of guitarists use it correctly or even know what it does. I doubt any Schiit stuff will get a Standby switch anytime soon and if you add an automatic turn on it really doesn't help, unless you can turn the B+ off and keep the voltage going to the filaments. And a Standby switch is more hardware, more stuff to go wrong, hard to explain how to use, tubes are not covered under warranty past 90 days, and it may cause a "pop" in your headphones that is no good. That pop maybe okay for large guitar and bass amp speakers, but not so okay for sensitive headphones.

The other way is to ramp up voltage slowly to the heaters (filament) with a Variac. Engineers who work on tube amps should have a Variac to test circuits anyway. Not suggesting to always use it, unless you are crazy about maintaining the life of your tubes to the maximum amount.

 

[FrivolsListener]

Not unless you have a Variac.

Standby switches, that switch on an off B+ extend the life of tubes by proper use. You see, when you switch Standby on (B+ off), the filament is free to turn on and warm the tube up. Then you can switch Standby off (B+ on) to get the amp going. Once warmed up, you can turn Standby on or off as you need without having to subject the filament to in rush current. The tube should last longer, even if kept constantly on. Just like a standard incandescent light bulb will last longer if turned on and never turned off. Most tube guitar amps have this and I would say only about half of guitarists use it correctly or even know what it does. I doubt any Schiit stuff will get a Standby switch anytime soon and if you add an automatic turn on it really doesn't help, unless you can turn the B+ off and keep the voltage going to the filaments. And a Standby switch is more hardware, more stuff to go wrong, hard to explain how to use, tubes are not covered under warranty past 90 days, and it may cause a "pop" in your headphones that is no good. That pop maybe okay for large guitar and bass amp speakers, but not so okay for sensitive headphones.

The other way is to ramp up voltage slowly to the heaters (filament) with a Variac. Engineers who work on tube amps should have a Variac to test circuits anyway. Not suggesting to always use it, unless you are crazy about maintaining the life of your tubes to the maximum amount.

 
Or a thermistor, and the B+ is on a switch (or even a separate transformer).   Caps have inrush current issues, too, if you aren't careful.
 
Designing the current limiting in is the better way than retrofitting with an external variac or a thermistor.

 

[ThePianoMan]

I usually leave my amp on during the day, but always turn it off at night. If you live in an area prone to storms or electrical outtages, bad things can happen... Kaboom! D:

 

[Vigrith]

I usually leave my amp on during the day, but always turn it off at night. If you live in an area prone to storms or electrical outtages, bad things can happen... Kaboom! D:

 
Yea I'd personally be too concerned (or just paranoid) to leave a tube amp on unattended over night, I do like it when they can be left on over the entire course of the morning/day/night whilst I'm awake though, makes usage very comfortable.
 
I want a black chassis Valhalla so bad, would look way better on my desk next to the black WA7 and monoblock, shame those only come round once in a blue moon and when they do they're pretty much only on the American website. Doubt one would pop up on the UK/EU ones so I'll have to settle for good ol silver!

 

[Vulpe5]

Speaking of the Valhalla, since it gets pretty hot, i always turn it off when i don't need it for a long time or when i leave the room for longer than +-20m minutes. Why? because well bad things can happen with hot things.
 
I mean if the window is open and wind blows paper on the tubes for example...

 

[pdferguson]

  Speaking of the Valhalla, since it gets pretty hot, i always turn it off when i don't need it for a long time or when i leave the room for longer than +-20m minutes. Why? because well bad things can happen with hot things.

Also, when it comes to any electrical device, heat translates to $$$. More heat, more $$$. Not sure how much in the case of a tube amp like this, but it's not zero.

 

[madwolfa]

  Speaking of the Valhalla, since it gets pretty hot, i always turn it off when i don't need it for a long time or when i leave the room for longer than +-20m minutes. Why? because well bad things can happen with hot things.
 
I mean if the window is open and wind blows paper on the tubes for example...

 
I turn off my Asgard 2 for a night. Or when I leave home for more than a day. Bimby is on 24/7.

 

[rtaylor76]

I turn off my Asgard 2 for a night. Or when I leave home for more than a day.

Same for my stuff at work, and it too is a solid state discrete amp. I even leave my Multibit dual PCM1702 DAC on pretty much all the time. And damn if it does not sound so freakin' smooth on Monday mornings.