must you play music to break in tubes


I have some GE 12ax7 longplate tubes that make some loud crackling noises.  The Seller claimed that this is common with nos tubes and that it will go away after they are broken in, but it is too alarming to hear and sounds risky to the speakers.  Might leaving the amp powered up for a while, but with no signal passing, break them in adequately?  Kind of hate wasting the power tubes lifetimes, but I don't have any old tubes to use in that amp.

128x128lloydc

I attribute blowing out a tweeter to a bad tube.  The tube was making more of a popping sound than a crackling sound, but none the less.

I have had a number of NOS tubes of different brands, a fair amount were GE 12ax7s and 5751s, but never had a new tube make crackling noises.

As the posters above recommend, send them back.  

Tubes need a break in period? 

Crackling is normal??!

Heed everyone's advice, return them and get your money back from this no integrity shyster.

only time I've seen a crackling sound being normal was when small bits of particles get trapped in the tubes plates during construction/shipping, a hard tap with the back end (handle end) of a screwdriver can dislodge the particles and return to normal operation. If its not that its a a bad tube from my experience. 

+ return 

You can turn the volume down while waiting for the noise to clear.  If it is what glennewdick described, it doesn't take that long to clear up.  The particles will burn up and the problems stop.  I hear that crackling rustling noise very rarely, and it is this issue of flakes falling on the cathode.  In my case, it is an amplifier tube, so I just have to endure the noise until it stops.  That usually takes a few minutes.  This happens with my very old set of tubes once in a great while (in the past 10 years or so, it has happened maybe four times).