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Seeking advice

I am up at our "summer" home in NH right now.  Woke up this morning to minus 17 degrees F.  It is a good time to be an audiophile.  So what in the heck am I doing here anyway?  Well I have put together an new system and it needed to be assembled, installed, and is now breaking in.  Since this is a second home, used mainly during the warm weather months, I wanted something good, but I didn't want to pursue an approach toward state of the art like I've done with my main system in Florida.  So the TT is one I have owned since 1986, a VPI HW19 MKIII with an SME 3009 Series II Improved that I had rebuilt by SME in Canada.  Cartridge is an AT20 and phono stage is my trusty PS Audio Stellar, which has been with me for a couple of years.  NOS amp and disc spinner are Marantz PM10 and SA10, both currently discontinued and available at blow out prices.  Speakers are NOS B&W 802 D Diamonds.  All wire from Audio Sensibilty out of Toronto, who supplies all my wires since years.  Anyway, it is a novel experience for me to have an almost completely new system all at once (TT stuff excepted).  I have had it up and running now 24 hours a day for just over 1 week.  The speakers are starting to settle in a bit.  How long do you think break in is likely to take?  I am thinking 300 hours or so.  Am I crazy?  So far the best break in disc I have tried has been an old Bach organ thing on Telarc.  My favored small acoustic jazz groups don't seem to exercise this system very hard.  Amazon gets things here fast if any specific recommendations are available.  Thanks.

billstevenson
markmoskow
42 posts
 

Well, I just listen to stuff I want to listen to as I break in, and don't really count hours. For me it's about the music I want to hear, not simply sonics. Yes, things sound a little better broken in, but it's a good way to hear stuff you haven't listened to in awhile or not at all to listen as you go. See what the music sounds like. Sometimes I make a note to go back to it when broken in. Once stuff becomes work, I'd rather just work and get paid.

bassbuyer
191 posts
 

I stream Qobuz playlists when I’m breaking in new equipment.  I usually shoot for 4 days about 100 hours.  On another note I assume you are adequately heating the summer home during the cold winter months.  I learned the hard way after seeing the effect the severe cold and extremely dry air had on the speaker cones.  Spring is coming! Enjoy your new system.  

baylinor's avatar
baylinor
1,429 posts
 

I run my digital FM tuner through my DAC dialed on the University of Texas radio station in Austin.They play a variety of genres 24/7 all in hi res, meaning it hits all the notes. I do so for 5 days straight with any new component or cable for that matter. Over 100 hours minimum for most equipment seems to do the trick.

lewm
13,223 posts
 

Bill, I think at this point (24/7 for more than a week) you’re breaking in your ears and brain to the system sound, more than anything else. I assume you’ll go back to FL for the duration of the winter and early spring, leaving your NH house at some minimal heat setting. During that fallow period in cool temperatures, the speakers might revert to as new stiffness, and you’ll start all over again in summer.

billstevenson OP
385 posts
 

Well you know it is not me sitting in front of the speakers 24/7 all week long, although there is some truth to the breaking in of the ears part.  I am actually surprised at how forward and aggressive the B&W speakers are.  I know it is not the electronics because I had that in Florida for a month to compare with my C-J stuff.  The AT20 cartridge is also quite agreeable.  The speakers, though not horns, are nonetheless quite surprisingly assertive.  I am sure each time I come up here there will be a period of adjustment required.

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