Sexy Tubes Incoming!!!

[W9TR]

I just keep the original McIntosh tubes in the sections I don’t use.

[SAM992]

Originally Posted by W9TR

I just keep the original McIntosh tubes in the sections I don’t use.

ok, so you have a C1100 it appears.. so it's safe to let the Phono tubes go bad if one isn't using their Phono section then?

[W9TR]

Originally Posted by SAM992

ok, so you have a C1100 it appears.. so it's safe to let the Phono tubes go bad if one isn't using their Phono section then?

No, I wouldn’t say that. I test the tubes in all my gear every year. So far I haven’t had to replace a phono section tube that I don’t use. They may be low on gain, but they test ok.

My oldest pice is a C 2300 - going on ten years now.

I expect to have to replace one of them some day.

Tubes fail on a ‘bathtub’ curve where failures are high initially for say the first 100 hours, then drop for a long time, thousands of hours, until the tubes reach end-of-life and the failure rate rises.

I try and replace tubes before they reach end of life. Sometimes it works.

[Ankkor]

I also have the mcintosh stock tubes parked in the phono stage.

[GeAllan70]

[GeAllan70]

Sexy!!