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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...
128x128daveyf
limomangus's avatar
limomangus
1,426 posts
 
How come break in time wasn't even thought about in the 70s or 80s or 90s  ? Was equipment better made then? Or are we being made fools of ?
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 

Hello @limomangus, nothing has changed since the old golden days... If you are nirvanized by factory-fresh equipment, or after a couple of hours of burn in, or 50, 100, 250, or whatever hours of break-in, continue to be happy about your audiophilic ways.


As for me, I am not even faintly concerned about new times, old times, what manufacturers say, dealers say, measurements say, reviewers say in print or on-line, audiophilic lore, urban legends, punditic profferings, conspiracy theories, or plain old-fashioned "what the neighbors say"... I just enjoy myself and trust my ears. Thus continue to cheerily break-in new equipment until I am satisfied that its performance has stabilized, and has presumably plateaud, regardless of what this might take, and whatever my "neighbors" say.


G.

  


daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,871 posts
 
G. You bring up a good point. I do wonder how many times consumers in this hobby do what you do...versus buy something without A) ever listening to it, B) buy it based on price...and usually the higher the better, C) buy it based on a reviewer’s opinion D) buy it based on the recommendation from their dealer or E) buy it based on measurements alone..
mitch2
3,976 posts
 
How come break in time wasn't even thought about in the 70s
Too busy enjoying the great music!
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 

Hello @DaveyF, I confess that I have not always purchased a component based on personal experience...

　

In the late 1970s, I purchased a Sony "high-end" cassette player solely based on looks, pedigreed reviews, specs, and frequency response graphs without ever hearing it... Do not remember the model (maybe TC-755?), but it belonged to the first series featuring solenoid-activated controls... It turned out to be a totally doggie-breath device, musically and mechanically, regardless of break-in.

　

ARC LS-2B linestage was recommended by my dealer... Never heard it until it was delivered. Was initially dry, visually underwhelming, but became musically wonderful after break-in.

　

Rowland M725 was a "closed-ears" purchasing decision that I reached after my previous experience with M7, M312, and M625.

　

Rowland M925 purchased was also close-box... Was based on all my previous experience with Rowland amps, from M7 onwards, as well as after discussions with the manufacturer. So were Rowland Aeris and Criterion.

　

Rowland M7 was purchased after a quest of several years auditioning in Toronto, Vancouver, and NYC. So were EAD T1000 transport and D7000 DAC, Aragon 4004, MG 3A speakers, ARC REF3, and Esoteric X-01.

　

Rowland M312 and M625 I fell in love with at RMAF. Vienna Mahler and Die Muzik were also acquisitions resulted from steamy RMAF love-affairs.

　

Except for Rowland M7, already 10 years old at purchase and for which I was its third daddy, all devices benefited significantly from break-in... Perceived stabilization ranged from 600 hrs (ARC Ref3) to about 2200 (Aeris).

　

Worth pointing out that some of the above sounded unpleasant out of the box, other ones merely juvenile and incomplete. The old Sony cassette player was the only one that never graduated to being a fine music maker... ARC Ref3 was the only device that I retired out of audiophrenic desperation... the 6550 tube in its power supply seemed to require upwards of 500 hours to come up to full bloom, and started to sonically sag some 400 to 600 hours after that.

G.


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