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In Reply to: RE: what I've heard posted by mbnx01 on October 09, 2014 at 22:00:22
That's what I've experienced with my Cronus Magnum. Whatever tube types I've used (KT 120, KT 88, 6550, etc.). I guess it's to be expected when you get up to 100 watts out of two tubes.
Edits: 10/10/14Follow Ups:
I assume that as long as they hold a bias that my KT120s are OK. KT90s would glow bright purple and make a squealing noise before blowing a fuse.
I just KT120 re-tubed my Rogue Apollo. Really didn't want to, because 600 bucks. I didn't keep a tight hours count, but I'd roughly estimate between 1400-2000 hours on the last set over 3 years. They were still holding a bias fine, and sounded almost good as new. But one night recently, a main fuse (the one by the power cord socket) blew upon power-on, and Rogue encouraged the route of caution towards re-tubing -- emphasizing that fuses usually blow for a reason. I replaced the fuse and ran that old set a few more sessions without incident, then bit the bullet and loaded fresh tubes. The new tubes have a notably healthier side-getter flashing, and probably sound a touch crisper (in a good way; not bright).Glad I replaced the tubes to lower the risk of an "incident" like a had with an EH KT-90 after only a couple hundred hours (back in 2010) -- it shorted catastrophically, fireworks & smoke, torching a resistor and mildly scorching the circuit board underneath (got a new board printed). The system was sounding really great right up until that incident, too; it occurred right at the end of a bass heavy track!
Edits: 10/12/14
Was that in an ARC amp?
They're well known for blowing resistors in a spectacular fashion.
"We are all in God's hands... and God is a malign thug."
-Mark Twain
Nope, it was in one side of my Rogue Apollo monoblocks, just before (or around the time) that the KT-120 came out. Probably just a fluke, but it bypassed the various fuse protections. After the replacement EH KT-90 and board (replaced under warranty at no cost to myself), I didn't have any problems for another few hundred hours before moving to KT-120, which are better sounding and likely to be much more reliable. They're great amps, which is why they've stuck in my system for 4.5 years now.
Edits: 10/12/14 10/12/14 10/12/14
I change power tubes once they start sounding thin in the mid-range, long before they would actually fail. This happens by the 1800-2000 hour mark with all the current production tubes I've tried (with various amplifiers). How long they would last before total failure I don't know: I would speculate another 1000 hours from what I've heard.
Edits: 11/26/14
I haven't been keeping track of my Cronus Magnum tube hours so I'll probably just swap them out in a few years. Mine have relatively low hours because I listen mostly to my solid-state integrated for a good 8 - 10 hours a day in my office.
The Cronus Magnum gets special treatment and is powered ON only for those special sit-down and pay attention listening sessions rather than background music while I work. I've never had a tube outright fail in my Rogue gear.
I had a bad batch of EL34 tubes a few years ago in my Manley monoblocks and that was a bit of a pain. I had to replace a few cathode resistors under the chassis and at 70 Lbs each, it was a bit of work..... but I felt better about doing it myself vs trying to ship those beasts half way across the country for service. I replaced all 10 EL34 (per monoblock) with 6CA7EH and all was fine.
Overall I've had pretty good luck with tubes, no major catastrophes.
The Manley amps were a couple of THE best sounding that I have ever owned. But you know what? The Rogue is right up there at a fraction of the price.
Beautiful pics Abe! Do you still use Manley in your system?
I downsized and sold the Manleys a while ago.
I thought that you were using Rogue exclusively...
I can easily put in 2000 hours in a year, so that would be a $400/year expense for me. Downside of going with the monoblocks.
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