Do tubes have a break in period?


Hi, I just re-tubed my Cary V12 and wondered if like other electonic components (cables, cartridges, etc.), do tubes have a break-in period? And if so how long till they sound their best?
mysearcher257
Yes,tubes need a burn-in period of at least 48-hours. There is no need for a signal input. At the end of the burn-in period, the tube will have a better signal to tube noise ratio.
They do, and I burn in new power tubes for 48 hours and then check the bias at 48 hours one more time because they seem to settle in at this point and the drift after that is minimal, at least for the KT77s/El34s I am using.
What I have found with both Valve Art and EH KT88s in my ASL Hurricanes is that they take a couple of days to stabilize bias current in a push pull amp. In that two day period, the bias fluctuated as the tubes burned in. This you need to watch closely for a few days before business as usual. I have noticed zero change in sound if kept biased within tolerance. Those who say they "warm up" are probably experiencing ear burn in rather than tube burn in - a phenomenon that makes us think it is getting better, but we are actually training ourselves or becoming acclimated to the new sound.