So after trying to listen to the amp last night, and giving up after just three tracks, I took a note from @russ69 and sent the mfgr an e-mail.
They confirmed what I noticed regarding the "goo", and suggested I keep going with the break-in:
They confirmed what I noticed regarding the "goo", and suggested I keep going with the break-in:
Hello Richard,
Our tech thinks 100-150 hours should do it for break-in.
The only thing that has changed on these ICE modules, is that the replacements have more epoxy on the power transformer to help lower mechanical noise. We are not aware of any other changes.