Deang Posted June 9, 2002 Share Posted June 9, 2002 I posted this question a while ago at the asylum and got various responses. The question is: What does 'standby mode' really do, and is it really beneficial to use it? The reason I ask is because I ran across a post some time ago indicating that Dennis Hadd of Cary Audio believed 'standby' mode to actually be HARDER on tubes, and that he did not advocate the use of it. What say ye? This of course leads to the natural follow up question: What is the proper treatment of tube amps in order to aid to the health and longevity of the tubes? Deanf>s> Cary AE-25/ S F Line 1/ S9000ES/ HSU x-over/ SVS CS+/ RF-7 Klipschcones®f>s> Exigency is the matriarch of ingenious contrivancef>c>s> This message has been edited by deang on 06-09-2002 at 01:51 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted June 9, 2002 Share Posted June 9, 2002 There has been lengthy discussion on "standby mode" here and if you do a search in the 2 Channel Archives, you will see it written out in detail with all points of view. I dont think it was the thread you were talking about. I know I wrote out about a three paragraph opinion on it with mdeneen and a few others giving their views. Quickly, the standby switch USUALLY turns B+ on and off, leaving the amp, circuitry and tubes warmed up (only filiment voltage on tubes) for best sonics without having as much stress on the tubes. I know that I have used it for over 13 years with my Cary preamp and had good results with tube life and the unit was always warmed up (my Fender guitar amps as well, although I didnt leave those on standby forever... but just for the day if playing). It kept you from having to turn the amp totally on and off, blasting the circuitry and tubes with voltage thereby shortening the life span. On the other hand, the only time I have really had a major tube amp problem was when I inacted the standby on a EL-34 PP Ultralinear amp of mine. A Svetlana EL-34 shorted and took out part of my PS. As for your Super Amp, Cary/AES ONLY uses the Standby to power up the PS circuitry. There is NO voltage to the tubes at all. Engage your standby and take a look. It is not your normal use. I think Dennis had a different implementation of standby with the Super Amp before hand. He normally uses the standby to only put the filiment voltage on the tubes. I believe Dennis still uses Standby in the normal fashion on most of his preamps and other tube amps. You saw standby used the MOST on tube guitar amps where is it still a mainstay on reissues today. kh ------------------ Phono Linn LP-12 Vahalla / Linn Basic Plus / Sumiko Blue Point CD Player Rega Planet Preamp Cary Audio SLP-70 w/Phono Modified Amplifier Welborne Labs 2A3 Moondog Monoblocks Cable DIYCable Superlative / Twisted Cross Connect Speaker 1977 Klipsch Cornwall I w/Alnico & Type B Crossover system one online / alternate components / Asylum Listing f>s> This message has been edited by mobile homeless on 06-09-2002 at 02:10 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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