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Value of burn/break in?

I have my first hi end audio system. I fired it up, popped in a cd, and it doesn't have the vibrant sound that I thought it might have. I have a slightly used demo power amp from a dealer, slightly used demo speakers from a dealer, but a brand new tube preamp. A friend of mine told me that I will see a huge difference in sound quality once the tube preamp breaks in. I was wondering if I should get a break in cd or just wait till normal listening does the job
easola01
pawlowski6132's avatar
pawlowski6132
604 posts
 
Tubes hit optimal operating temperatures very quickly. Get a infrared thermometer and measure yourself. After a few minutes you're just wasting electricity and shelf-life of your tubes if you're not listening to music. On the other hand, small tubes last for >10k hours so...
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
11,226 posts
 
I like to listen as my new component breaks in and occasionally speed it up with Ayre's Irrational but Efficacious!  CD system enhancement disc.

All the best,
Nonoise
easola01's avatar
easola01 OP
161 posts
 
Great advice. Experience the process of the change! That sounds logical.

n80.....I wish I could fiddle with speaker placement. My system, unfortunately, has to be placed in my bedroom. No room for moving speakers, they are constricted in opposite corners of the room. The limited space also doesn't allow for much fiddling with room treatments...so I purchased a Dspeaker antimode 2.0 dual core room correction device. Looking forward to calibration on that.
n80
2,134 posts
 
I'm in the same boat, but it doesn't take much. A little shift here and angle there. Again, I don't have my Audiophile License yet but it really does make a difference. The main things I was able to notice with my inexperienced ear were bass tightness and the 3D aspect of the sound stage.
easola01's avatar
easola01 OP
161 posts
 
n80...so you noticed bass tightness and soundstage with minor adjustments in speaker angle? Interesting! Will try but I have read that pretty much everyone puts their speakers toed in at about 45 degrees so there is a triangle listening arrangement
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