No matter how you design your experiment, unless you are willing to spend money to do it, the design is fraught with sources for error that could skew the results. If you compare a used or broken in cartridge to a new one, then stylus wear could be an issue. If you set up the two cartridges in the same tonearm, then there can be error in set-up that could affect the results. But the experiment is unnecessary in my opinion; it is very obvious and logical (given that the suspension is so important to performance) that break-in for a cartridge is real. However, if you are skeptical, go for it.
Cartridge burn-in
Hi to all analog friends here,
Any time I purchase a new cartridge, when I set it up and sit down to listen to it, I cringe a little. It always sounds stiff, harsh, glassy, shrill. Then, after a few days/weeks of playing, it appears to 'break in' and start sounding relaxed, more musical, sweeter, less straining, presenting the music with better flow and finesse.
Common wisdom teaches that the cartridge, being a mechanical component, needs to loosen up its suspension. So, the only way to really hear what the cartridge is capable of is to play it for at the minimum 20 to 30 hours (some sources even say 50 hours).
OK, makes sense (kinda). But an alternative explanation is also possible: whenever we replace our current cartridge with a new one, the new one will sound different. Maybe it is this different, unfamiliar sonic character of the new cartridge that is causing us to feel that the sound is harsh, metallic, unpleasant, strenuous? Then, after a few days/weeks with the new cartridge, our ears and our listening habits get adjusted to the new type of sound, and we grow to like it.
This gradual conditioning to the new type of sound is then called 'cartridge break-in'. But maybe the cartridge doesn't really break-in; maybe it is our ears and our listening habits that gradually break-in and get accustomed to the new sound?
What do you think?
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Glad the Aidas is continuing to satisfy :) |
I've now installed about a dozen MC cartridges in my setup, from brand new. Some sound spectacular right from hour #1, and others start out decent-ish and then show improvement over the next 20 - 50 hours. I've even experienced both types from the same same brand. But I haven't ever had one sound "cringe", yet. I don't think I've ever heard anything go from cringe to good via break-in. But to be fair, I lose patience easily and have given up on some components (not cartridges) before full burn-in. |
There is some logic in what @lewm says. Rubber has a short memory. Just over night the Porsche will develop flat spots on it's tires so for the first several miles the car rides rougher until the tires warm up and the flat spots resolve. I do not know if this is the case for the rubber used in a cartridge's suspension. The MSL Signature Platinum sounded great out of the box. If there is a change I do not hear it. Same is true on warm up. Esls for certain break in as the diaphragms loosen they become more dynamic and will produce better bass. Cartridges being electro-mechanical devices could have a break in period but I do not hear it. IMHO purely electronic gear does not break in. It is what it is right out of the box and first impressions are always the right impressions as the human mind can accommodate to almost anything. |
Regarding my own MSL Gold Signature unit, it sounded very good right out of the box but nothing really specail (as I was hoping for). After 10 hrs it started to open-up and relax but after 25+ hrs OMG it was like another animal. Now I understand what a WONDERFUL cartridge this truly is. Even after 35 hrs it is still getting better, the importer told me it will be fully broken-in after 50 hrs but even now I'm a very happy camper. 😉 Other cartridges have never taken this many hrs to come alive like the MSL, at least this is my experience. |
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