Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

If one listens to their system 2 hours daily on average, then it would take the better part of two years before one actually hears what said player is capable of. Ha!

Better ask for a two year trial period from your local high end retailer. I trust one hears what the unit will ultimately sound like after 500 hours at most. Anything after that is due to changes in mental state, one's physical fluctuations, humidly, lack of humidity, time of day, type of food just consumed, adult beverage consumed, position in listening chair, ear wax level and on and on. No kidding guys. My system, as is, sounds different day to day due to factors beyond break in.

If you have listened enough days to a unit with 500 hours, rest assured you have indeed heard the unit for what it is. That same unit will indeed sound different, in your same system, next year on any particular day for a whole host of reasons both understood and not understood...... but no longer because of break in.

Ok, let the Aphile community roast me know.

I was so nervous about the pending Aphile onslaught that I made a mistake. Sorry. Meant to type "roast me now, not know" .

Bill,
I raised that issue earlier in this thread as well, the notion of extraordinarily long break in is puzzling. What choice of a part, material, construction techniques etc is responsible for this? I accept the general premise of necessary break in. It would seem that transformers, capacitors, wiring and other parts should be reasonably seasoned after 200-300 hours (that's quite a long period). Could someone explain the underlying reason for extreme break in periods? What in the world is taking place during all those hours?
Charles,

My amp seemed to continue to sound better up to 1.5yrs from new. I used it about 15hrs a week. I am not sure why but here is a theory. The better amps eventually align all the molecules and atoms and other things all the way back to the power plant and out to the speakers. Thus creating a more coherent non nasty flow of atoms and molecules and stuff. Why else would it take so long? Yea that is it.

Perhaps it is just me Grannyring... But most pieces I had had in my system took that long, or even more... Esoteric X-01 and K-01 for example, both about 1200 hours... And my Vienna Die Muzuik speakers took 1500 hours... Even my old
ARC Ref3 took about 1K hours to fully bloom. I remember evaluating a very expensive twin-box player once upon a time... I did throw in the towel when I reached the 2K hours mark and realized that the device had stabilized, with no musicality to show for the effort.

I fully admit that I am excruciatingly patient when evaluating a component... If in the end I really like a device, I then use it for several years... So, even 1500 hours, becomes a perfectly reasonable investment of my time, when I consider it against the long run enjoyment.

I suspect I do not even know how to spell cwik gruddiphicationn *grins!*

G.