Albertporter only needs 50

I have been following Maxgain's reports with some interest. We had our outlets installed at roughly the same time and my experiences have been roughly parallel. I have left the 2 channel system alone. I intend to give it a week to break in.

I have instead concentrated on the HT. Day 1, the bass was very muddy. Day 2 and 3, I noticed a great deal of pixelation coming from the satellite. This has now smoothed out rather nicely. The sound continues to get tighter and more focused. I agree that the bass will probably be the last thing to settle down.

Once they are properly broken in, I plan to run dedicated lines.

Day six.
120 hours of burn in.
Happy to report that my friend, the low bass is returning nicely now and things are smoothing out in the mid bass as well. The good things I mentioned before are becoming even more pronounced. Sounds sort of super charged! Very precise with amazing clarity, focus, and detail! Can't keep writing,I need to shut this damn PC off and listen to another tune quick!

I let it run a few hours while I was gone with the CD on repeat. As the bass comes back, seems so is a bit more of the harshness. I hope this is a short phase that may be gone even tomorrow.

Ok, tonight it sounds different again? great in the mids, woffy, poofy, wooly bass, and smoother highs than this afternoon? This is a real thrill ride like a roller coaster of up and down. Perhaps some of it is that the new outlets let me hear the real quality of my AC better than before which explaines the different sounds at different hours of the day?(it always seemed a bit better at night before anyway)

Albert, anything you can add? You have been through this, what comes next? perhaps getting on the contraption that spins me around till I toss my cookies instead of the roller coaster? At 6'4" I hope I'm not tall enough to get on that ride! Don't get me wrong I am confident that things ARE getting better overall. It's just that they seem to be toying with me at times, by giving me something then just before I grab it they snatch it back!

I resisted commenting because I wanted to give other Audiogon members an opportunity to post their results without my input. I had a huge head start on this project as my outlets were installed months ago when my sound room was completely rebuilt. It was about 45 to 60 days when my outlets showed NO additional changes in break in.

A few years ago I cryo treated the transformers in my Soundlab Ultimates. The break in period took over 7 months. At one point I completely gave up on the project. I ordered two new back plates from Soundlab in anticipation of having to dispose of the cryo treated ones. Just as I was ready to pull the plug, in the weeks that followed, changes came about in the function of the crossovers where they literally blossomed to life. There was almost unbelievable transparency and balance and the bass finally came back. If not for all the members in my audio group hearing and agreeing with this sudden change, I would doubt myself, especially after all that time.

Considering the benefit received from my cryo outlets, in a (relatively) short break in time of 45 days, they may be the biggest bargain in my system. Equal in some ways to expensive cables and power cord swaps.

Your experience with break in is not out of line with mine and your comments may benefit those who face break in of other cryo treated products. I know of no product that cryo treating does not screw up at first, regardless of type or application. The worst ever was a Benz moving coil phono cartridge. That experience would be a thread in itself.

It will be worth it, just needs a little more burn in time. (Luckily not 7 months).