I have 8 dedicated 20 amp lines in my room, and installed ACME 20 amp non-cryo outlets in each one last October. Three days ago I replaced two of the ACMEs with FIM 880s, one for my cdp, and one for my preamp.
I can identify with many of your observations. In the first few hours of use the FIMs sounded slow and muddled, and the highs rolled off. It is day 3, and there is improvement. The top end is starting to open up, although not to pre FIM status, transients have more snap, and familiar details are starting to emerge. The FIMs seem to be breaking in more from the bottom up. This is the area that is improving most in terms of speed, transparency, and extension.
Overall I like the FIM's tonal qualities better then the ACME's. There is less chalkiness/whitening (not sure how else to describe it) of the mid/upper registers, more of a natural tonal color and weight across the range. They are darker sounding, so this additional weight and richness may not suit a well balanced tube system that already has these qualities.
Meridian 508.24 > FMS Zero XLR > SF Line 3 w/Amperex 7308 > MIT Proline Reference > Classe Omega Omicron > MIT Oracle V3 > Thiel CS7.2
I can identify with many of your observations. In the first few hours of use the FIMs sounded slow and muddled, and the highs rolled off. It is day 3, and there is improvement. The top end is starting to open up, although not to pre FIM status, transients have more snap, and familiar details are starting to emerge. The FIMs seem to be breaking in more from the bottom up. This is the area that is improving most in terms of speed, transparency, and extension.
Overall I like the FIM's tonal qualities better then the ACME's. There is less chalkiness/whitening (not sure how else to describe it) of the mid/upper registers, more of a natural tonal color and weight across the range. They are darker sounding, so this additional weight and richness may not suit a well balanced tube system that already has these qualities.
Meridian 508.24 > FMS Zero XLR > SF Line 3 w/Amperex 7308 > MIT Proline Reference > Classe Omega Omicron > MIT Oracle V3 > Thiel CS7.2