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Amplifier Break-in - It's Real

I just completed a major amplifier upgrade from using the power amp side of a NAD 375BEE integrated to a Coda No. 8 and can swear to reality of a necessary amplifier break-in period and the need for a great degree of patience. For the record the 375BEE is a great integrated and the power amplifier side is very good. I replaced the preamp some time ago with a Freya+, a significant upgrade. Regardless, the 375BEE has some limitations and I "needed" an upgrade. I have severe space restrictions for my gear/rack, so size mattered, and final candidates were Bryston and a latecomer in the Coda 8. The Coda had such great reviews/comments I went with it.

Days 1, 2 and 3 were pretty frustrating and I was concerned. My NAD setup had a very good sound stage and rich bass, neither of these were evident early on with the Coda. I thought it might be an impedance mismatch with the Freya (75 SE or 600 balanced ohm output) and the Coda. Some online specs show the Coda at a very low 1K Ohm input impedance, however before I bought I checked with Coda and they confirmed it is actually 10K ohms. Still I swapped out the new balanced cables for RCA's, no significant change. For the first few days I was turning on the amp in the morning and running it all day, but off at night. I decided to have patience, accept the need for break-in, and just start running 24/7. Lo and behold about three days into that process, during which I found some new respect for electronica, the sound stage and bass started to appear and have only improved. It was uncanny. IMHO there was no way I was imagining this change because contrast was so great from the NAD when I first plugged the Coda into the system. I know my system well and changed nothing else, aside from the noted interconnects, from one amp to the other. I realize I am mostly preaching to the choir, but am writing for the next person that plugs a new amp in and does not hear what they expect right away.

In case it matters, the rest of the system is KEF LS50, Gumby DAC, REL 7i sub and Pi 4 with Allo DigiOne running Moode.
zlone
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
break in is definitely real (and the human psychological element is present too, no doubt... both can be true simultaneously)

but for different types of gear, the degree of change over time can be quite different... as different techincal elements may take shape differently as used hours accumulate

trust your manufacturer’s info on this topic
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
The community needs to gain some perspective on how much of a range of perception humans have from day to day while listening. It’s complete nonsense to think that we are more consistent than electronics, or that we can definitively assess changes to systems over days, weeks, etc. A great deal more humility/experience is needed in the audiophile community.

This cuts both ways. Just because you can’t hear something is no reason to arrogantly assume no one else can. A great deal more humility/experience is needed.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,399 posts
 
It happens. 
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
atmasphere, thanks for the reasoned input! I conducted my comparisons, which satisfy my quest to discover whether break in is a real phenomena. Perhaps more accurately, it should be discussed as whether it is an audible phenomena. In my articles wherein I compared several products that were broken in to identical ones that were not - simultaneously, the outcome was not good for break in.
YMMV and it’s fun to explore such things! :)

yyzsantabarbara
4,929 posts
 
I would be interesting if someone bought a new pair of monoblock amps and burned in one amp and then compared the two. I bet the sound difference would be very audible between the two amps.
I had a pair of Benchmark AHB2 monoblocks that were used everyday for a year. I got another brand new AHB2 and could not tell a difference from the older pair. However, I do remember reading the designer of the amp stating the AHB2 does not need any break-in.

I bought a lot of gear in the last 12 months (over 10 items, integrated amps, DACs, preamps, amps) and all of them except the AHB2 required break-in.
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