What should I hear as my amp breaks in?


Ok my Bryston 14b3 just came I today. Immediately I noticed the music came out of a darker background and the music was sweeter and vocals clearer. Now this is replacing an 18 year old 14bsst that was bought used. I had bought a new 4bsst in 02 and can vaguely remember some changes. I don't get to change amps like some get to change cars every year. So from every ones memeory, what can I expect to hear from now? Its been running for 8 hours and im keeping it runninh 24/7. I'm recovering from surgery and have time to listen. Well it was tricky getting that 89lb beast out of the box with a broke foot. But I used a lot of finesse and I was going to get it running today. I know my Bryston and Tandberg gear liked to be juiced up all the time. So let me hear from members here. Thanks. Mike
128x128blueranger
@blueranger
Immediately I noticed the music came out of a darker background and the music was sweeter and vocals clearer.
What you are hearing is good.  You should indeed expect to hear immediate improvements with your new amp, particularly since the new 14b3 has received excellent reviews. 

If the amp doesn't sound good right out of the box, IMO no amount of "burn-in" is going to change that.  I have owned a bunch of amps and have never heard the dramatic swings in performance that some here talk about. Once the capacitors are fully charged you should be well over 90 percent of the way to the final voicing - IMO.  I wouldn't argue with folks who say there are minor improvements or that a touch of initial edginess may disappear after being powered up and playing music for a time (like a week or less) but with the 10 or more $5K - $20K amps I have owned (a couple of crappy ones but most very good), I have never once heard anything remotely approaching dramatic changes after hundreds of hours.  Enjoy your new amps.
Thanks. Bryston does some kind of electrical load on their amps for so many hours for quality. I don't remember my otber Bryston changing much but that was 15 years ago. But I'm still hoping for that little extra. I have 6 new things in my system in tbe last 10 days. This amp, 17b3 preamp, SA-10 SACD player, power cord and a 10 ga dedicated line. Plus maple isolation. I'm out recovering from surgery so I'm intensely listening. I also wonder if I might miss small and gradual changes like someone leaving tbeir system on and only checking on it every couple of days. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
+1 @mitch2 
Unlike others here I've only owned a few amps over 40+ years in this hobby (Pioneer, Denon, PS Audio, NAD, Krell and currently Vincent). I agree w mitch2 that I've also only heard small improvements in SQ as the hours add up. IME mine all sounded a little rough for the first 15-20 mins (about 3-4 songs) and then they smooth out. Honestly, I can tell a lot more differences in SQ between recordings than I ever could between low-hours and high-hours play time. Just my 2c, YMMV.
Enjoy your new system! I bet it sounds fabulous!!!

Tom