Initial GMA Europa impressions and a few questions

Altho' I'm not an Europa owner, I'm a GMA owner. From what I can tell from my own experience is that the most significant improvement will occur until the 100 hrs mark. From the 100 to 300 hrs mark the improvement will be less dramatic i.e. you'll the speaker get more refined. How well you can perceive this will depend on your hearing abilities & your system's abilities to "show" you this. BTW, I'm in that 100-300 hrs period myself.
Atleast in my speaker there is internal cabling from both Audio Magic & Jena Labs. The Audio Magic wire needs 1000 hrs to break-in! *If* memory serves me correctly, Roy told me over the phone that the latest production runs of speakers are now using only Jena Labs as this cable is just as good but needs much less time to break-in.
My user manual informs me that I should exercise the speakers with both soft & loud passages of music to free up the woofer rubber surround. This will help tremendously in the speaker's ability to reproduce music at lower volumes - 65-75 dB SPL at 9 ft (for my situation with these 3-way floor standers). I can personally tell you that playing Bob Marley tracks & other Blues tracks at high volume has indeed helped me enjoy this speaker system at the above mentioned volume levels - I can hear all the details of the music at low volumes. This sort of trait is very typical of electrostatics & ribbon tweeter based systems but I'm thrilled to have it in my dynamic/cone-driver speaker!
FWIW. IMHO. YMMV.

As my Europa literature says (2003 edition), they will not break in with quiet playing. I discovered this to be true as I played them at modest listening levels with no significant change.

Break in calls for 200 hours at "moderately loud levels (30 watts)." To me, that's LOUD.

I know that Roy does not hesitate to really crank it as I personally discovered at his factory. We had it up to 106 dB, A weighted, at 2 metres (my measurement). He didn't flinch. The speakers didn't distort. Stunning.

So, according to my interpretation, and considering "30 watts" (a lot), "moderately" might mean: keep it below 95 dB. In other words, LOUD, just not insanely loud. If you want to discuss it with Roy, give him a call.

My experience with Europa's:
1) Since I had established an expectation from my factory experience, my Europa's out of the box sounded bad in comparison--gritty, edgy, "overly analytical."
3) With 200 hours of loud playing, they are dramatically improved, and I am very happy with them. Their coloration is nicely balanced, portraying the level of warmth as found in the recording--in short, neutral.
4) To trace back over their break-in history, I noticed perceptible changes at these loud playing intervals (counting only the really loud playing hours): at very roughly 2-3 hrs., 10 hrs., 30, 60-80, and then around 200-ish. The change from beginning to end was incredible. Only time will tell if they have finally stabilized for the truly long-run.

Low level detail is really remarkable. They play loud very well, too.

To answer your question about further break-in, Tcbannon, I suspect that you will find further change for the better. Keep 'em cranked when you can. That's what makes the difference.

Chris,

2003 manual.

Distance in feet you are from the front of the speaker/ Stands are this much below ear height

5 ft./5 in.
6 ft./6 in.
7 ft./7 in.
9 ft./ 8 in.
12 ft.+ / 9 in.

If stands are too tall/short, tilt Europas forward/back with 1/4 to 1/2" shim at the rear/front edge.

For listening standing up, Europa's sound best 36-42 in. up off floor.

Anyway, adjust the speaker height for maximum clarity considering all instruments.

[Note: As for myself, during break-in, I didn't want maximum clarity--too harsh. So, I used the wedge technique to angle upward. Worked well. Now, I want maximum clarity.]

Rear wall 24" min. to front of speaker. More is better.

From side wall to outer edge, 18" min. /more is better.

Toe in speakers so that they aim at the shoulders, not into the ear. You should see 1 in. of the enclosures (inner) sides from the listening chair.

Separation. Distance from outer rear corners from one speaker to the other should be equal to the distance from the mid point of this same rear corners line to the listener (make sense?). There are some specialized circumstances where they might be closer (loudness due to center reflection--e.g. TV). Do not separate the speakers more than this distance.

I hope that helps until you get the manual.

Glad your enjoying the product. I have spoken with Roy many times and he claims the Europa is more sensitive to interconnects than speaker wire. I did some experimenting and he's right(isn't he always?) Cables make a huge difference on these speakers. Try a few different ones.

In their fully broken-in state, would you GMA and Europa owners
describe these speakers as being forward sounding, i.e., front row
perspective? I ask because I have heard so many great things about
these speakers, and the Europas are so affordable, but I strongly prefer a
more distant perspective (middle of orchestra or back 20-30 feet in the
jazz club). What do you think?

Also, which stands are you using with the Europas? Are any of you using
adjustable-height stands?