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RE: Tube/Valve Lifespan

Posted by immatthewj on December 10, 2020 at 18:35:27:
I don't know what the tubing is like in a headphone amp, but in my main amp & my back up amp for my room system, when the outputs have started going/have gone south (this recently happened) I first note female vocals getting hard, edgy, grainy. I also note that the sound stage begins to compress. When it really gets bad, like it had degraded to recently, bass gets really loose (that's the best descriptor I can think of) & the highs get fluttery sounding, or maybe reedy (as in the reed that inserts in the mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument). My bias readings also do some goofy things.
Those are my perceptions.
I have considered keeping a spare set on hand (for the amp that now serves as my backup, I actually have accumulated, via tube rolling, 3 serviceable sets of outputs--but it only takes 4 outputs). I don't know why I haven't for my main amp. Cost I guess, my main amp uses twelve EL34s. I actually do have a few different inputs to roll (someone, who remains nameless because I don't know if he would want me to thank him publicly, recently gifted me several more) & I have four pairs of power source tubes, and I know for sure that two of those pairs are serviceable. The extra inputs & power source tubes have came in handy, & due to using those, I recently concluded that it had to be my outputs that were getting grungy, & sure enough, that was the right conclusion.
This statement in your OP rings true for me:
" Otherwise, I don't like the idea that I'll find myself feeling as though my tube set-up is sounding sub par someday, and realize I had been listening to a tube amplifier that would have brought more enjoyment if I understood the warning signs a bit earlier."
It does, in fact, bug me that my listening sessions were degraded because my outputs had lost their sheen. I felt something was wrong, but I wasn't sure if it was just me having some bad days. Finally, I couldn't listen in denial any longer so I took the plunge, & tonight I realize how better served I would have been doing that earlier. But I wasn't sure. A spare set would have let me verify those feelings or refute them.