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How often should you change tubes in a preamp? Are there any signs that indicate when you should make the change over?
 
MikeH said:
How often should you change tubes in a preamp? Are there any signs that indicate when you should make the change over?
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What type of tube. Most little preamp tubes run for years. They oftensay up to 10,000 hours. If they’re going you tend to get noise on that channel and when you switch the tubes it moves to the other channel.
 
duke86fan said:
What is your luck with open box... It seems like a crapshoot between basically the same item at a discount and "doesn't include most of the accessories"

I never used open box so I wonder
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As others have said, buying open box from reputable sellers is totally fine and i've done it many times. I got my Wharfedale Dentons open box from Music Direct and they appear to be brand new. Some of those sellers have generous return policies, so people will buy speakers to test them out and return them within 60 days and then Music Direct or whoever has to sell them as open stock.

Buying on craigslist or something is a bit more of a gamble.
 
MikeH said:
How often should you change tubes in a preamp? Are there any signs that indicate when you should make the change over?
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If this it regarding the Jolida, @Joe Mac's on the spot, actually this is true for all small input/output/preamp tubes. The good news is that these can be had at a reasonable price. I have debated swapping the small tubes (Gain) every few years on a regular cycle, but not quite sure yet..........you're ears are still the best point of reference :)
 
Joe Mac said:
What type of tube. Most little preamp tubes run for years. They oftensay up to 10,000 hours. If they’re going you tend to get noise on that channel and when you switch the tubes it moves to the other channel.
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The tubes in the Jolida I bought from @AnthonyI. It still sounds awesome but I just changed my TT belt and got to wondering when you're meant to change tubes! I know he included some other tubes so I may just give them a test to see the differences in sound.
 
MikeH said:
The tubes in the Jolida I bought from @AnthonyI. It still sounds awesome but I just changed my TT belt and got to wondering when you're meant to change tubes! I know he included some other tubes so I may just give them a test to see the differences in sound.
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If they still sound great they’ll be fine but it’s always fun to roll to other brands/compatible tube types to see if there is a difference and whether you like it! And yeah totally agree with @AnthonyI, they aren’t anywhere near as spendy as power tubes, even for the better ones, well unless you fall down the NOS hole…
 
MikeH said:
That's what I am trying to avoid...haha. Already fallen down enough holes in this damn hobby.
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I’ve stubbornly avoided it. It’s just too much money for a consumable, especially as some of the Russian new production, like the Gold Lion and Electro-Harmonix, sound so good. Also 4 power tubes and 6 small preamp ones makes me go a little white at rue thought of how much NOS would cost!
 
Joe Mac said:
I’ve stubbornly avoided it. It’s just too much money for a consumable, especially as some of the Russian new production, like the Gold Lion and Electro-Harmonix, sound so good. Also 4 power tubes and 6 small preamp ones makes me go a little white at rue thought of how much NOS would cost!
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There is a powerful pull within me that says at some point I gotta go tube. But there is an equally powerful force opposing this that knows it would be an absolutely horrible decision because within six hours I'd be on a plane to Russia to dig for NOS somewhere on the outskirts of Vladivostok.
 
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Mather said:
There is a powerful pull within me that says at some point I gotta go tube. But there is an equally powerful force opposing this that knows it would be a absolutely horrible decision because within six hours I'd be on a plane to Russia to dig for NOS somewhere in the outskirts of Vladivostok.
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If you did that, NightMather would probably make you go to Chernobyl "for funsies".
 
Mather said:
There is a powerful pull within me that says at some point I gotta go tube. But there is an equally powerful force opposing this that knows it would be a absolutely horrible decision because within six hours I'd be on a plane to Russia to dig for NOS somewhere in the outskirts of Vladivostok.
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At least you know YOU, lol

.............of course that's not going to stop you :)
 
Mather said:
There is a powerful pull within me that says at some point I gotta go tube. But there is an equally powerful force opposing this that knows it would be an absolutely horrible decision because within six hours I'd be on a plane to Russia to dig for NOS somewhere on the outskirts of Vladivostok.
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Roadtrip!
 
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