Your opinion on burn in

My MIT speaker cables took over a week to burn in properly when I first got them. Other components took various, but long, amounts of time, when new. I don't claim to have the subtle ear of many who post here (I am not saying this tongue-in-cheek) but have not noticed too much of a difference when turning my equipment on once everything is no longer new. There is a bit of difference -- but I'm not sure if my ears are burning in or if it is the equipment -- I assume the latter. But that burn in is nowhere near as audible as the initial period. The differences are smaller (to me) and I would rather face the smaller electric bill. Since my equipment is solid state, I can't speak for tube gear. Cheers ;-)

P.S. Since I think you asked, my system is fairly decent with Sierra K2 preamp and Danali amps and Montana KAS speakers. I had a couple of Bryston/Thiel setups prior to that and also didn't really notice much, if any, difference once everything was broken in initially.

South 43 - I believe once cables are burned in your done, the only time I worry about it is when I'm on vacation and come back or don't listen for a few days. I'll put a disk on and run it for a few hours. I don't notice any degradation, in fact it always sounds fantastic after I haven't listened for awhile, even cold, which tells me its my ears. I do think my system sounds better after playing for a while and I have tubes in the preamp and do not leave them on.

You know, your ears really do "burn in" for each listening session! I have noticed this each time I turn on one of my systems and start listening. Even if the tube amp and preamp have been playing for 45 mins or so, when I first sit down to listen, there is a quality about the sound that changes after I've been sitting there for 30 mins or so. It gets fuller, richer, no matter how long the equipment has been left on playing CDs to warm up. Another interesting phenomenon, and I believe I've read something about this on this and other forums (fora, really, but how pretentious):
if you are having a glass or two of wine or a couple of beers (and I assume this holds true for mixed drinks as well), the sound changes as the volume of liquid imbibed increases! Seriously! I actually find the sound degrades if I drink several glasses of wine or beer while listening. One or two enhances the sound, more than that and everything starts sounding thin and tinny.
This is bizarre but true, in my experience. I've been collecting gear and music and listening to music for 35 years, and drinking while listening probably for 20 years, and I noted this phenomenon quite some time ago.
Sarah

Pops I'm sort of leaning in your direction. I do find after a couple of days of non-use a smile comes when I fire up everything. My dac is a tube unit and I don't leave it on but I am thinking of changing that thought due to the digital circuitry. My thanks to all.

I have noticed that my system consistantly sounds better after 2 1/2 days of being left on. Sometimes I shut my preamp down at nights because it gets too damn hot. This doesn't seem to affect sound, but complete shut down definitely changes things for the worse. As to improved sound after 20 minutes or so, I would guess that it is your ears "warming up". Just like eyesight, ears can focus on sound, and it gets sharper with attention and effort. Also if you start at a lower to mid volume, and
raise the volume slowly, your ears adjust. If you start out too loud, it tends to "blow your ears out", affecting your ability to hear details.