CD Player break in period


Guys, I'm not looking to start a debate on break in periods, if it's real, a myth, etc.

I have purchased a new Esoteric X-03 SE SACD player on 12/26/07 along with new Tara Labs The One (w/ISM) balanced interconnects. I let the player warm to room temperature as it was stone cold when I opened the box, evidence that it was either in an unheated warehouse or truck for a while-confirmed by my dealer. After a half a day, I hooked it up and the sound was incredibly poor. Very hard sounding, harsh mids and highs, narrow soundstage, no impact to bass, no definition. I am now on hour 674 and it's almost there. Soundstage opened up, detail is awesome, everything is, as I said almost there, but I still have a bit of a sting on female vocals. I have done an extensive amount of research and although Esoteric's website says break in should be 250 hours, I have found some information stating it would take 800 to 1,000 hours to sound excellent, with it still improving there after.

Again, I am not looking for responses disputing break in, that this is a fantasy and it must be some other culprit in my system (my dealer prchased the same player on the same day (same shippment) and he is experiencing the same).

I would love to hear about other members experience with equipment requiring a rather extensive break in period.

I appreciate your input.
128x128cerrot
Not sure if it matters but I've got the preamp on "mute" with no output. My amp is "off" since the speaker leads are lying on the floor waiting for my new speakers and I wouldn't want power to get to the wires risking a short. Do you think I am getting the break in benefits with the preamp muted?
I still don't understand the value of turning the preamp on when buring in a cd player, can someone explain this? I'm under the impression that just having the cd player on repeat would burn it in. Since you cannot hear it anyway, I would recommend using the Ayre/Cardas burn in cd as the disc on repeat.

Cheers,
John
John:

I'm interested in a response to your question as well since I am using up tube life to burn in my cd player. If I can get away with the preamp off and still get the job done that would be my preference.
Jmcgrogan2, you may be correct, but the idea is to ensure that the output phases of the CDp have something to do by letting them communicate with a live destination. This of course may all be nonsense, and a CDP with the rest of the system turned off may just break in the same. By the way, I used only my old LS2B for the break in; I did not want to put oodles of empty hrs on my Ref 3. G.
On burning in...Steve Huntley also suggested just plugging it in and running it on repeat...no need for preamp...in fact, he said you don't even need it hooked up to a preamp...just place it on the table and let run. I suspect the reason for this is that the major burnin devices (caps) are located in the power supply and digital boards, not necessarily the output section?

I did not use my tube preamp to burn it in either, though I did power up the system from time to time to listen and probably left it on longer than normal...just in case. ;-)