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Cartridge burn-in

Hi to all analog friends here,

Any time I purchase a new cartridge, when I set it up and sit down to listen to it, I cringe a little. It always sounds stiff, harsh, glassy, shrill. Then, after a few days/weeks of playing, it appears to 'break in' and start sounding relaxed, more musical, sweeter, less straining, presenting the music with better flow and finesse.

Common wisdom teaches that the cartridge, being a mechanical component, needs to loosen up its suspension. So, the only way to really hear what the cartridge is capable of is to play it for at the minimum 20 to 30 hours (some sources even say 50 hours).

OK, makes sense (kinda). But an alternative explanation is also possible: whenever we replace our current cartridge with a new one, the new one will sound different. Maybe it is this different, unfamiliar sonic character of the new cartridge that is causing us to feel that the sound is harsh, metallic, unpleasant, strenuous? Then, after a few days/weeks with the new cartridge, our ears and our listening habits get adjusted to the new type of sound, and we grow to like it.

This gradual conditioning to the new type of sound is then called 'cartridge break-in'. But maybe the cartridge doesn't really break-in; maybe it is our ears and our listening habits that gradually break-in and get accustomed to the new sound?

What do you think?

crazybookman
sksos
156 posts
 

Regarding my own MSL Gold Signature unit, it sounded very good right out of the box but nothing really specail (as I was hoping for). After 10 hrs it started to open-up and relax but after 25+ hrs OMG it was like another animal. Now I understand what a WONDERFUL cartridge this truly is. Even after 35 hrs it is still getting better, the importer told me it will be fully broken-in after 50 hrs but even now I'm a very happy camper. 😉

Other cartridges have never taken this many hrs to come alive like the MSL, at least this is my experience. 

pindac's avatar
pindac
2,506 posts
 

It has been a while since I have put a New Built Cartridge into my system and almost twice as long since I put an 'off the shelf' design New Cart' into my system.

Prior to the New Built Cart' I was using a SS Phonostage and Hybrid Valve Phonostage. Since the New Built Cart' has been added, it is working mainly with Valve Input/Output  Phonostage.

When using a New Cart' and assessing it, I recollect the Valves would 'Pop' to their prime performance quite noticeably after a period of use, and the Cart' would continue to show subtle changes towards what was to be the prime performance, from recollection it was the lower frequencies that were becoming more gathered and real in the capable of doing it right area.

I don't recollect the Cart' going backwards as the usage progressed, when the Valves 'Popped' the Cart' always seemed to be very close to the last recollected bass performance.

It was a later experience of demonstrating the Cart' in comparison to another Higher Up the Range Model from the same Brand, using the same Headshell>Tonearm>TT and HiFi System, that really showed how improved the Rebuilt Cart' had become.    

lewm
12,585 posts
 

To be clear, I’m not saying that a bad sounding cartridge gets good once it’s broken in, although in individual cases that might happen since judgement is almost entirely subjective. I am only saying that cartridges that are either brand new or have been in long term storage audibly benefit from warmup. This probably has nothing to do with flat-spotting, a well known phenomenon that can occur with any car parked for more than a day or two on concrete or any very hard surface.

karl_desch's avatar
karl_desch
422 posts
 

I think experienced vinyl users here have experienced two different types of cartridge break in and have noted a variance in need for break in depending on the design or model of the cartridge.  My SoundSmith MIMC star took a long time to start sharing the deep groove musical details while my Hyperion demonstrated greatness after 20 hours. Anyone who has used a new Ortofon MC A90 knows that bugger takes a long time (>100 hrs) to open up and play music. 

The other type of break in is what @lewm ​​​​@mijostyn are referring to.  I call this the "Lyra one LP side warm up", the time it takes for my friends Atlas or my Etna to start sounding its best.  I think Lewn's use of a test LP is a great idea to warm up a cart.

 

lewm
12,585 posts
 

On the original Cardas LP, bands 2a,b, and c encode wide frequency sweeps that are ideal for this purpose. That’s on the original 33 rpm version of the LP. The current version is at 45 rpm on side 1. I use tracks 1,2, and 3. (I own both the older and the new versions of the test LP.)

i am not sure whether Mijostyn agreed with me or not.

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