Tube Question - Do they need time to "Break In"

Other than a Preamp/Amp's given warm up time...do tubes need time to mature or settle in similar to a new speaker?

chadlesko02-07-2009 4:48am

vett93 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 205 posts 02-07-2009 at 05:00pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete My experience is that tubes do take time to break in. Two years ago, I bought a pair of new Full Music Meshed-plate 300Bs for my SET amp. When I first powered them on, they would not even hold biases. They also sounded muddy and closed. If you looked at the meshed plates long enough, you could see their brightness changed! After 200-300 hours, they started to open up and hold the bias levels. Now they work perfectly. I really like these tubes!