tube upgrade for first sound

Yeah, the $75 minimum was a shocker. So I ordered two sets of OA2's (in case I keep the First Sound forever) plus the EH 6922's and thereby met the minimum. But there must be another source for OA2's, and Music Direct sells the EH tubes for less than New Sensor does. I just wanted to get it over with. Emmanuel recommended the Russian OA2's that New Sensor sells on the basis of reliability (not sonics) vs. other OA2's.

I've been running my new FS for 8+ days now. It's only been shut down to discharge the caps, as Emmanuel recommends. I've noticed that this unit NEVER, becomes even slightly warm. Does this translate to being very kind to the tubes in the pre? Just curious.
Thanks guys
pt

By the way.....What is with the price of tubes!!!? YIKES!!!!! I hope the FS is kind to tubes. :-)

paul - after the month of play, there are many tube options to consider, as has been outlined extensively here. the 7308's and 6922's are designed for looong life, the 6DJ8's somewhat less. i havent had mine long enough to weigh in on how the FS itself affects tube life.

Mine never gets warm either, not at all. some of that might be the power supply living in another box.....

Paul-

Yes, as I can recall I do believe the break-in recommended from Emmanuel was 30 days of play. I personally did the 24/7 as it was the stock tubes and have a dedicated listening room, so keeping the system on at night doesn't affect others ability to sleep. The discharging of the caps does seem to help speed up the process as Emmanuel will tell you. Just remember to make sure the unit is also unplugged as well as turned off (if I remember correctly - lol has been some time). I think it may have been mostly broken in around 3 weeks or so when I started swapping stuff around, was impatient. Then I put it back to the stock power cord and such to wait that extra week, figured another few days won't hurt me. For when you are done, the unit does breathe easier and appreciated a good power cord, as well as NOS tubes take the performance to the next level. Hang in there.