Do military/industrial tubes sound better than regular ones ?

Or they are usually just more rugged and longer lasting? I am particularly interested in 12AX7 and 12AU7 RCA blackplates from early and late 50s.

They are often double the price, but that would not be my main concern in this case because even regular ones should last for a very long time.

In other words, I would like to have best sounding RCA blackplates in my VAC Avatar SE, and longer lasting would be a bonus.

inna02-06-2025 10:02pm

thecarpathian Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 5,031 posts 02-07-2025 at 02:23am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Military vacuum tubes are built to specifications that ensure resistance to failure in high vibration environments and tighter tolerances³. They are not necessarily for the military, but are manufactured to meet these requirements ³ ⁵ ^{Perhaps tighter tolerances may impact the sound, but I believe the ones labeled for the military are no different than the ones labeled for any other use, probably coming off the same line, only labeled differently.}