It seems that my records don’t realize their full sonic potential until about 45 minutes of playing. Even if the rest of the system is already warmed up.
Coulda sworn I answered this. Internet ate it? Whatever.
Its funny, I have mentioned this a half a dozen times at least. Just not in its own thread. Its definitely a thing. Also funny how recently I posted about listening skill levels and how people reveal the level they are on by the way they talk about things. You start making excuses trying to explain away what another person clearly heard, trust me, its you not them. Worst mistake you can make is to start second-guessing your own ears simply because some guy who can’t hear made up some halfway’s plausible sounding malarkey trying to explain your experience away.
Don’t fall for it. Its real. I go through this every night. No matter how warmed up everything else is still its a good 20 minutes for the cartridge. If you say 45 I won’t argue. What happens, every time, big fast initial improvement so the first track sounds better at the end. The first 5-10 minutes is the biggest improvement. Starts out hard, grainy, flat, winds up more liquid, natural, deep. By the end of the first side, about 20 min, I’m pretty happy. But yeah, it does continue to improve after that. So you could say 45.
A big reason for doubt is its not just the cartridge, the whole system improves. There’s just no doubt. I’ve even had people who stayed long enough tell me it sounds better at the end. Chris Brady, the Teres Turntable guy, he noticed this and he was only here a couple hours. Chris has good ears. Anyone not hearing these things, trust me, you can forget the stories. Its you.
I’m just crazy enough that when someone makes up a reason why I will actually go and test it out. So if the suspension needs to warm up and loosen up I run a blow drier on the cartridge long enough to be sure the heat has soaked all the way in and.... no difference. Still needs to warm up.
That leaves motor, bearing, wire. Can’t recall running the motor specifically to check this. Tell ya what, will do that tonight. While I’m doing that, maybe some of these guys who can’t hear this at all can actually try and see if they can? Because let me assure you, its for real.