[Pacio]

Hello everybody,
I 'm going to receive my first "tubed" gear: an active buffer from PromitheusAudio, to match with the passive TVC pre. It features two 6N1P military signal tubes and one 5Y3 rectifier tube.
My question is: I would like to get the life of those tubes as long as possible, without hurting the sonic capabilities of them, should I leave them always on?
Or is it better to turn them off each time I do not listen to my system?
Thank you very much for your advice.
Cheers,
Marco

[JimJ]

I've heard it debated both ways...if you listen at multiple times during the day, I could understand leaving it on in the periods in between, so you don't need to wait for it to warm up...but I don't leave my stuff on overnight. I just find that wasteful.

[Gordy]

In a perfect world I suppose it would be best sonically to leave them on all the time.  Small signal tubes should be good for about 10k hours / about a year in that case.  Given the vagarities of my power company and weather systems, I simply don't feel good about leaving my tubed equipment on while unattended, except for relatively short periods of time.  Welcome to a wonderful new world 

[Thebiker]

I agree, leaving them on during the day if you will be utilizing the system throughout the day is fine.  But on unattended for long periods or when you aren't around is not a great idea.  Shut down if you are not around, preserve the tube life and protect yourself from the vagaries of your power company.

Welcome to the wonderful world of tube heads .

[Pacio]

Well..thanks guys!
Actually I don't know what to expect from a tubed gear in my system since I never auditioned it seriously in my "audio" life  , nor I auditioned this exact unit.
I completely trust the manufacturer, Nicholas from PromitheusAudio which believe that his combo TVC passive pre + active tubed buffer is a real preamp giant killer..
I am truly excited by tubed gear but am a bit concerned not to destroy it once received..you know, just like a baby, wonderful but so fragile!

Cheers,
Marco

[TONEPUB]

Here's something to keep in mind, replacement cost of the tubes in your gear.

Lew Johnson always told me, "If you are going to be gone for more than
an hour, shut it off"  Most tubes only take about 30 min to settle in to their
sound.  So every time you leave it on all day, especially if you are only going
to listen later on in the afternoon or evening is really burning up those tubes!

Again, if you are using cheapie replacements, no prob.

But if you have some nice (and expensive) NOS tubes, I'd keep a more
careful eye on the useage.

That's my 2 cents worth!!

[TheChairGuy]

About 30 minutes, that's about what it takes here, too.  I thought it was a bit long myself and I was imagining things a bit....now I find myself in good company of Lew Johnson and Jeff Dorgay.

I'm relieved to be as wrong/nuts as these two guys 

[Pacio]

Here's something to keep in mind, replacement cost of the tubes in your gear.

Lew Johnson always told me, "If you are going to be gone for more than
an hour, shut it off"  Most tubes only take about 30 min to settle in to their
sound.  So every time you leave it on all day, especially if you are only going
to listen later on in the afternoon or evening is really burning up those tubes!

Again, if you are using cheapie replacements, no prob.

But if you have some nice (and expensive) NOS tubes, I'd keep a more
careful eye on the useage.

That's my 2 cents worth!!

Tonepub,
That is the problem! I'm gonna have some NOS tubes..a spare set of them will cost about 60-70 usd..definitely not that cheap!
Thank you for your precious feedback, gentlemen, I'm gonna shut my tubes off when I'm not in, and I will let them some minutes to warm up once I decide to have some listening..
Thank you again!
Cheers,
Marco

[BubbleChamber]

Regarding the 30 min. warm up, does it apply to only power tubes or all tubes in general? I have a hybrid amp and the dealer told me 10 min. would be sufficient to warm up the 12au7's. Is he wrong?

[Gordy]

Is he wrong?  No, not necessarily.   It certainly won't hurt anything however, they probably won't reach full potential for another ten to twenty minutes. Let your ears be your guide!