Yes, they do break in. Do they NEED a break in? Not really. Small signal tubes especially will sound good within a few minutes of warming up but they will tend to sound better after a while because everything gets "baked" and molded into shape so to speak. I recommend the JJ tubes for current manufacture or find some New Old Stock (NOS) tubes on ebay. Lots to choose from. You may want to get your tubes from a place like the tube depot or others who test and run them in to make sure they aren't duds and they may even match them for a little more money.
Does a tube need the break-in hours?
Most probably not, but not sure why :)
Does anybody know a good substitution for 12AT7WA tubes? I have bought 8 of them about 10
years ago for Manley Stingray. Now, when I need a replacement, none of them are good
(ones are labeled by Manley others are Philipps).
(An almost 20 years old Stingrey remains in a good shape.)
Does anybody know a good substitution for 12AT7WA tubes? I have bought 8 of them about 10
years ago for Manley Stingray. Now, when I need a replacement, none of them are good
(ones are labeled by Manley others are Philipps).
(An almost 20 years old Stingrey remains in a good shape.)