will
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I don't think I have had any VRs fail, but I tend to roll them, so have not run any as long as I have my amps that use them by any means. I have had a few rectifiers fail over time, but surprisingly few considering how much I use my amps. That said I am pretty sure I recall some threads here where the VR was a culprit for problems but can't recall where. Lon may remember, or it may have been him.
I am with CAJames, I would have spares on hand. Even VRs, perhaps usually the longest lasting, many are "NOS" (the nicer ones to me) with who knows how much real wear on them or what they have experienced in transport or whatever.
I may be a little particular in that after many years of tube tuning in Toriis, I get pretty attached to my sound with certain tube combinations. But this came from trying lots of them over time, so I have abundant backups and I can make a number of sound variations I love, feeling in sync with my listening needs, but shaking up my experience enough to make it new. I learn this way.
So I like having backups not just to be able to listen, but also to shift my listening world, really liking to experience it a little differently on occasion. And my "backups" are different, giving whatever combination I like at a time more flexibility for fine tuning. So for me, they make my music more compelling. But I listen a lot, creative medicine to me.
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