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Break in time that extends to months or maybe even years!!

On another thread, we have a well known and well respected piece of gear ( and great sounding too, IME) that according to the member who is reviewing it, needs in excess of 1000 hours to fully break in!! 

While we have all heard of gear that needs immense amounts of 'break in' time to sound its best, usually gear that involves teflon caps, I question whether this very long break in time is the job for the consumer? Is it reasonable for a manufacturer of audio gear to expect the consumer to receive sub-par performance from his purchase for potentially several months ( years?) before the true sound of the gear in question can be enjoyed? Or, is it ( or should it be) perhaps the job of the manufacturer of this gear ( usually not low priced) to actually accomplish the 'break in' before releasing it from the factory? Thoughts...
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phd
1,316 posts
 
High quality gear does require an extensive break-in period, but for years, give me a break. Some manufacturers will break-in gear to some degree  before it is sold so that the buyer initially will enjoy a certain level of sound quality from the get-go. How many times have you read that some buyers sold their new purchase too soon only to find out later they did not allow the component the properly break in, thus they never really got to hear its capabilities.
Conversely there is some gear that require to be left on over-night just to sound their very best for critical listening. But I think you can take this break-in period too far, then you need to ask yourself what is really breaking in, you or the gear.
daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,871 posts
 
@phd  Question is how many users that you were referencing leave their gear on all the time, or listen as often as it takes to actually break the gear in. The ARC preamp I mentioned, would have required a number of months or more...perhaps more than a year, to actually break in IF the user was not listening every week ( and for extended periods). That, plus one wouldn't really want to leave a tube preamp ( or any tube gear for that matter) on for weeks at an end. ARC stated that their large Teflon caps needed 600+ hours to break in! 
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cleeds
5,950 posts
 
daveyf
The ARC preamp I mentioned, would have required a number of months or more...perhaps more than a year, to actually break in IF the user was not listening every week ( and for extended periods) ... ARC stated that their large Teflon caps needed 600+ hours to break in!
That's not at all what ARC states. Check your user manual.

If you don't actually own any ARC gear, you can "look it up," if you care. Many ARC user manuals are online.
daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,871 posts
 
@cleeds  ARC didn't state anything about the long break in time in the manual of the piece I am referring to ( I did not say they did, you somehow read that?) , but in a response to a review, this was recommended. I doubt any company mentions much about 'break in' time in their manual..particularly IF it is going to be lengthy.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Alas, the manufacturers are always the last ones to know. 😕
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