Tube smell?


Some 5687 tubes I just installed have a mild but definite
burning-rubber odor. It's not extreme, but it is there
if you sniff around them (and I can also detect it around
the room). Has anyone ever had this? Could it be something
oxidizing because they are newly installed?

It's a bit hard to tell, but it seems to be all 4 of them,
not just one.

The tubes work fine, but look brighter than
my old cheaper 5687s. They sound absolutely great,
nice and smooth and mellow.

It's not the amp, as the old tubes don't smell.

Thanks for any help.
rgs92
Part of the charm of tubes. Mind you it is subjective only and cannot, indeed need not, be explained scientifically, but the sense of smell is involved in the emotional response to music.
Sounds like a lack of engineering foresight. 5687 tubes have a larger cathode than typical small signal tubes. They run hot and are probably melting the circuit board or an adjacent passive component.
Thanks everyone. The aroma has been reduced significantly
after about 8 hours of use, but is still present near the amp.
It is definitely the tubes, not the amp, as the tubes
are fully exposed atop the amp, and the original Phillips
tubes had no smell at all, even close up. These are
Tung-Sols. Yeah, I guess I'm with Pbb's comments above,
and I'll need to learn to love it. Boy, these TungSols
sound amazing--mellow and smooth but soooo non fatiguing,
really magic.
could it be that you have counterfeit tubes? if that's the case the ink they used to relabel the tubes may be burning off and projecting that smell.
Sounds weird, but it is remote possibility......