Hey chaps
I had a globe in my store room which did its job reliably for years. Light the room. Until a ladder accidently whacked the fixture and shattered the globe. It was only after a matching globe (same brand and same purchase date) was installed did we realise how dull that previous globe had become during its use. I use this example of the globe as, to me, a globe and a hifi valve / tube are similar as they both emit heat, light and pass current. Reason behind this line of thinking is for years I have heard stories of tubes degrading with every use, and that these are having to be constantly swapped out. To me, as a tube noobie, that sounds like a headache. Is this true when they are used in a pre-amp / music situation? Does the music become less so because of an "aged" tube? Do I need to stockpile a collection of potentially delicate tubes to maintain the level of musicality I am enjoying now, or do I stay with quality solid state that has never failed me. I recently got a Woo Audio headphone valve pre-amp, and as lovely sounding as this little thing is, these "worries" now shadow my enjoyment of it.
Any thoughts or opinions based on your experiences would be greatly appreciated.
I had a globe in my store room which did its job reliably for years. Light the room. Until a ladder accidently whacked the fixture and shattered the globe. It was only after a matching globe (same brand and same purchase date) was installed did we realise how dull that previous globe had become during its use. I use this example of the globe as, to me, a globe and a hifi valve / tube are similar as they both emit heat, light and pass current. Reason behind this line of thinking is for years I have heard stories of tubes degrading with every use, and that these are having to be constantly swapped out. To me, as a tube noobie, that sounds like a headache. Is this true when they are used in a pre-amp / music situation? Does the music become less so because of an "aged" tube? Do I need to stockpile a collection of potentially delicate tubes to maintain the level of musicality I am enjoying now, or do I stay with quality solid state that has never failed me. I recently got a Woo Audio headphone valve pre-amp, and as lovely sounding as this little thing is, these "worries" now shadow my enjoyment of it.
Any thoughts or opinions based on your experiences would be greatly appreciated.
