Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

hacknix t1_jcxn99m wrote

Reply to comment by podaypodayson in BIFL home audio-the McIntosh MC275 by podaypodayson

You've hit on what might limit it's lifespan there. Tubes. Eventually, at some point, the tubes will cease being made...

17

woden_spoon t1_jcxsc1m wrote

Not sure why the downvotes—there’s been a pretty significant tube shortage for the past couple of years. There are only a few factories that produce them. One closed recently, and another is in Russia where tubes were on the 2022 export ban list. This has caused musicians and audiophiles to hoard tubes, further exacerbating the supply-chain issue.

For those who don’t know, vacuum tubes have a limited lifespan. You can get 5-10 years out of a tube if you only use it occasionally and at low volumes, but if you use them several times a week at higher volumes, they’ll last maybe 2-3 years.

The possibility of tubes becoming unobtainable or prohibitively expensive is very real.

15

mega_brown_note t1_jcyctno wrote

I feel like the law of supply and demand means there will always be tubes available … for a certain price.

3

Shitebart t1_jcz6ojd wrote

As long as guitarists exist, somebody will still be producing tubes. I don't think tube guitar amps are going anywhere. They've remained strong throughout 20+ years of digital tube amp simulation and I don't foresee that changing

1