Phono Section Break-In CD ??

Without a box in between the output of the CD player and the inputs of the phono stage you're likely to do damage.

The best burn in I've ever run into is from Thor Audio - it has a box which goes in between the CD player and the phono stage (an inverse RIAA stage among other things) and includes a CD with both MM and MC tracks on it for burn in.

It can be purchased through Thor directly or any Thor dealer. I am not sure if any of the major mail order stoers carry it or not.

This may be considered old-fashioned, but how about just playing records through it? I've always done that, and it has worked just fine for me. Personally, I like to hear the gear burn-in.

There is also this box from KAB:

http://www.kabusa.com/preconlp.htm

I purchased a PCB model with connectors (in other words, without a case) from this Hawaii source for less:

http://www.hagtech.com/iriaa.html

Hope this helps!

Todd

I agree with Twl. Seems completely unnecessary (and a waste of money)

Well I suppose one could argue that for an individual it is not the best use of money. For a store like mine we burn in so much equipment, and we can only have so much playing at any one given time, hence burn in devices (including cable cookers) are invaluable. Also given how much equipment we evaluate prior to picking up a product line, we want to make sure the gear is fully burned in prior to auditioning, and typically we only have a week to do so - thus anything which catalyzes the burn in process is deemed good in our eyes.

It is also true thath you would have to play a lot of records to burn in the phono section given the play time of an LP, and also LP's do not contain full spectrum bursts, and other tones which will more thoroughly burn in the phono stage. For this reason looping the phono burn in overnight will do the trick.

I am not necessarily implying that ever audiophile should own one - of course that would be silly. Just some food for thought...