phono stage break in?

Why can't you just record some broadband noise, reduce the level by some arbitrary amount, say 60dB, burn a CD of the now low level noise and then plug your phono preamp into the CD player. I've not tried this, but it should work.

As near as I can tell, both the CDs and circuit boards do the job and cost about the same. In my case, it's not costing me anything.

Ofcourse, one could always keep the money and just play records for a month or so. The phono stage is going to break in one way or the other.

This one is not a rebutal by any way, just a question:
Well...what about NOT using anything and just keeping the phono preamp on for a while. Does someone have any evidence that this by any means yields inferior results than buying a $20 CD ?

Noams, it's not about just leaving the equipment on, it's about running a signal thru it (and the interconnects too).

Phono preamps/stages include a Recording Institute of America (RIAA) de-emphasis section (a little like Dolby noise reduction.) So any "break-in" signal has to be "pre-emphasized" just like the signal on an LP. That's the reason for the "special" phono break-in CD, or the Hagermann device with the "reverse" RIAA circuit.

Just a quick question regarding using the Cardas Sweep record, which I just acquired last week. "Instructions" are kind of sketchy-I looked at the Cardas website and from what I can see using track 2 (a,b & c) on the sweep side should just about do it for regular maintenance. Do I have that right? Assuming I play one of those (or do I play all of them) every couple of weeks, am I getting the job done or do I need to be playing much more of the sweep side of the record? Thanks.