Do amps need time to break in? my hpa-2

My experience is that Solid State amps sound best when left on. While you don't say how long you've had it, how many hours that you have put on it, etc... i would suggest leaving it on full time and playing as much music through it as possible. Even if it's just the tuner at very low levels, some signal is better than none. After 24 - 36 hours of continious operation, this should give you a pretty good idea of how the unit will perform in the future. While it's possible that it could change slightly after that, the majority of SS "component settling" takes place rather quickly as long as you are putting it through it's normal paces. The only reason that something might change drastically is if the unit is pushed real hard or there are drastic thermal changes either within or external to the components. Sean >

I agree with Sean that SS sounds best when left on or in standby if that option is avaliable. All audio equipment (cables and IC's included) that I have experienced requires "break-in" time. There are no hard and fast rules for how long as each piece of equipment varies. There are some "System Burn In" CD's on the market that can help speed up the process in addition to playing a low level signal continuously for several days. Be patient the amp will settle in. Good Luck, Doug

I have no direct experience with your amp, but I bought a Bryston 4B-ST about 8 months ago and it took a LOT of time to break-in (about a month of frequent use). I leave my SS preamps and amps on all the time, unless there is an electrical storm in the area. SS gear benefits substantially from being fulled warm when used. There are also some (myself among them) that believe SS gear lasts longer if kept turned on, because it avoids the warm up/cool down cycles which stress transistors.