What is the life span of an amplifier tube ?

[Renato Fury]

I've seen people saying that they last for hundreds of hours even decades, but how long and what makes tubes can last for long or short time, type of amplifier, quality, type of tube? And how is it done to preserve them as much as possible? Say it there in the comments!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I've seen people saying that they last for hundreds of hours even decades, but how long and what makes tubes can last for long or short time, type of amplifier, quality, type of tube?

As long as nothing goes wrong while in operation on average tubes will last thousands of hours of playtime. Some might have some manufacturing defect like a leak on the glass or whatever. Not that different from having a solid state amp bust one of its discrete components or op-amps within five years. There are just too many variables the end user and even the manufacturer can't control nor know.

And how is it done to preserve them as much as possible?

Not using them and storing them in an environment with reasonable temperature and humidity. Electronic components are not like food that start degrading as soon as the package is opened.

 

[Renato Fury]

As long as nothing goes wrong while in operation on average tubes will last thousands of hours of playtime. Some might have some manufacturing defect like a leak on the glass or whatever. Not that different from having a solid state amp bust one of its discrete components or op-amps within five years. There are just too many variables the end user and even the manufacturer can't control nor know.




Not using them and storing them in an environment with reasonable temperature and humidity. Electronic components are not like food that start degrading as soon as the package is opened.

Thousands of hours? Well supposing I let the tube amp on for about 10 hours a day, how long do you think the tube would last?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Rough minimum 1000, divided by 10, makes 100.

People leave their tube amps runnning 24/7 and have them last a year.

 

[Renato Fury]

Rough minimum 1000, divided by 10, makes 100.

People leave their tube amps runnning 24/7 and have them last a year.

At least 100 days if you stay connected for 10 hours ? That's very little, I thought they would last for at least 3000 hours or more, but in that case it's not worth having a tube amp without the money to buy others.

 

[hikaru12]

It varies on the tube with older tubes going out faster likely due to corrosion. Similar to incandescents they get darker as they burn out. The quoted number is usually 5000 hours. I believe hybrid amps are better in terms of longevity as they run cooler due to having a solid state pre/amplifier portion and less tubes in close proximity generating heat.

 

[Renato Fury]

It varies on the tube with older tubes going out faster likely due to corrosion. Similar to incandescents they get darker as they burn out. The quoted number is usually 5000 hours. I believe hybrid amps are better in terms of longevity as they run cooler due to having a solid state pre/amplifier portion and less tubes in close proximity generating heat.

5000 is a good one, because 1000 hours is very little, nor would it be worth it if it were so, even more those tubes that cost hundreds of dollars.

 

[hikaru12]

If you're worried about longevity I would recommend the Lyr 2 as you can run it in solid state mode while reducing the cost of having to get rectifer tubes. Its the best bang for your buck if you don't have the money to spend on Woo Audio or Feliks.

 

[Renato Fury]

It is but from what I read these schiit tube amplifiers are very transparent even with the tube exchange, and I want that heat that only the tubes can provide.

 

[hikaru12]

It is but from what I read these schiit tube amplifiers are very transparent even with the tube exchange, and I want that heat that only the tubes can provide.

Not sure what you mean. If you want warmth in your music you'll want to go for specific tube amplifier that provide that such as the Woo Audio WA6 or even the cheaper Aune T1. The thing is even with rectifers you could end up with a tube amp that also has a lean or bright sound signature. It really depends on how it's designed and what tubes you roll in. Electro Harmonix and Amperax tend to be the warmest while Telefunken and Western Electric are more energetic.

 

[Renato Fury]

Not sure what you mean. If you want warmth in your music you'll want to go for specific tube amplifier that provide that such as the Woo Audio WA6 or even the cheaper Aune T1. The thing is even with rectifers you could end up with a tube amp that also has a lean or bright sound signature. It really depends on how it's designed and what tubes you roll in. Electro Harmonix and Amperax tend to be the warmest while Telefunken and Western Electric are more energetic.

I want to use Project Ember II, what do you think of it ?

 

[hikaru12]

I want to use Project Ember II, what do you think of it ?

I think that's a great amp. The Bravo is also well made. If you want you can also go for the Bottle head Crack. They are known for their warmth without breaking the bank.

 

[Renato Fury]

I think that's a great amp. The Bravo is also well made. If you want you can also go for the Bottle head Crack. They are known for their warmth without breaking the bank.

I already thought about going to Crack but I would not know how to build it and unfortunately the company does not sell them already built, I think they could make more money if they made this option available as Garage 1217, but that's okay, unlike Crack I can use any type of headphone independent of impendancia or sensitivity with Ember, it is very versatile and has many options of the configurations, but you already tested it ?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

At least 100 days if you stay connected for 10 hours ? That's very little, I thought they would last for at least 3000 hours or more, but in that case it's not worth having a tube amp without the money to buy others.

You might want to go back to what I wrote and everything before that. I said thousandS of hours. 1000hrs is just an extremely conservative estimate. That's why the second sentence says people running them 24/7 have tubes that last a year at least. 24hrs x 365days = 8,760hrs. Most new production tubes are rated for over 10,000hrs. If anything the wear and tear of switching them on and off costs more hours than simply running them at idle.

Don't just do that with any amp however. In some cases, like Class A amps, running them without an input signal will generate more waste heat, which can accelerate wear. Ditto a hot climate - people who leave their tubes on like that and then some schmuck closer to the equator does it in a room with no A/C running or the ceiling isn't insulated can get a heck of a lot of heat on an amp that isn't playing anything. Even if the tubes don't wear out there's the possibility of other parts like the capacitors or any solder points wearing out faster with all that heat on all the time.

 

[Renato Fury]

You might want to go back to what I wrote and everything before that. I said thousandS of hours. 1000hrs is just an extremely conservative estimate. That's why the second sentence says people running them 24/7 have tubes that last a year at least. 24hrs x 365days = 8,760hrs. Most new production tubes are rated for over 10,000hrs. If anything the wear and tear of switching them on and off costs more hours than simply running them at idle.

Don't just do that with any amp however. In some cases, like Class A amps, running them without an input signal will generate more waste heat, which can accelerate wear. Ditto a hot climate - people who leave their tubes on like that and then some schmuck closer to the equator does it in a room with no A/C running or the ceiling isn't insulated can get a heck of a lot of heat on an amp that isn't playing anything. Even if the tubes don't wear out there's the possibility of other parts like the capacitors or any solder points wearing out faster with all that heat on all the time.

10000 hours is even better, and if hikaru12 is right the tubes will last even longer in Project Ember because it is a hybrid.