Hi ozzy
Yes Rick told me about 400 hours is when it is at its best. The one i am using took about 300 plus before it is really good. For me it was the base that was lacking for a while, but did get much better over time. I used it at the wall with the Pro power cord feeding my MC 6 Hemisphere and have everything plugged into it include the tv and sat box. so if the stereo system was not on the tv was on so the hours went by quickly. You do not want to defeat the ground on it. I unplugged one of the MC O5s and plugged in a very short power cord with a 3 to 1 splitter on it and add the Mc O5 and the Pro 1 to it and plugged it back in the same spot the MC O5 came from. It has made a nice improvement in my system.