I hope break in is true


This is the first time I ever bought a brand new out of the box Preamp. No, wait. Second but, the other doesn't count.
I had made previous posts about my decision to downsize.
I have, everything is kinda good. You know, Okay.
I bought a pre here. great seller, great store. Couldn't have been smoother.
I am just not used to this type of stuff. I wanted something with a phono included. I kept it well under a $1000.00
Now, I got to ask you guys. Will this thing get better???/
I have not had to worry about break in before. Does it really exist?
It is a very well built unit. Remote, I'm not used to that! That's nice. Has everything I need. Except it isn't alive. The music is there, presented very nicely. Clean, no extra stuff. Just doesn't have any dimension.
Please tell me this is going to get better:)
scottht
Flyski, Why would anyone bother to go thru all of that just to prove a point to some one who sez it doesn't happen, or that it can't happen, that it's all in our head, or at their most gracious have never heard it themselves. Frankly IDGAS what other's can't hear.

Personally, I break-in new equipment while leaving all of my original stuff in place (or in a different system) and do not listen to it constantly during the process. I note what it sounds like out of the box and check in on it weekly to see what if any changes have taken place. And I always have the ability to A/B it to my original equipment as well.

Some changes are significant some are not. For example I recently broke in an new amp which sounded harsh thru the upper mid's and highs. After 24 hours I put in some different tubes to smooth it out (I had a prejudice toward the original tubes as it were). A couple of months later I started experimenting with the tubes again because the amp had started sounding dullish. I put the original tubes back in - the harshness was gone, I'll be dammed. The difference was amp break-in over a long period of time, there was no other reason. Tubes or amp, take your pick!

I'm fairly objective, and certainly not dillusional. About the only thing I'm generally cynical about is lengthy PC, IC, and speaker cable breakin - much beyond 24-48 hours - but I will admit there is a lot of cable I haven't listened to and I'm not educated electronically speaking enuf to understand the basis for longer break in periods, if they exist.

However, FWIW, I would agree that at 100 hours about everything should have taken on a sonic signature that you can live with or not. 100hrs devided by 24hr + 4+ days. What's the big deal?

On a personal note, I recall when I could't even tell the difference between many speakers unless it was gross, let alone amps and pre-amps. We all have a learning curve and many folks on this forum are smack dab in the middle of it. IMHO.
"Thats odd. I have not heard that nor experienced that. "To me" It is one non-fatiuging amp. Sounds great.
Every review I read has been positive. Thats why it is to each his own. Peace"

I was surprised because I am a big fan of the preamp. I can name a dozen amps, in my opinion, that smoke it. I agree it is non-fatiguing because the highs are rolled off.

Better amps include -

Belles 150a Hotrod
OCM 200
OCM 500
Sim 150
Odyssey Stratos
Monarch SE-100 Deluxe Monoblocks
McCormack DNA-1, 125,250
Muse 100, 150, 300
Ayre

These are only the solidstate amps I find to be better. There is a whole list of tube amps that, again, in my opinion, are far superior.

I did find it better than the Carver Sunfire.

Regards,

Wendell
Usually 100 to 300 hours of component break in before you can judge it. That's been my experience. Depending on the parts used in the component, some capacitors take longer than 100 hours. But 100 hours is a base....that's been my experience. Pre-amps are easy to break in. Just leave your cd player or tuner playing 24x7, supplying a signal to the pre(powered on of course). Amplifier does not need to be on. Just source and pre.

FWIW, after changing the caps in my pre-amp, I experienced a pretty good scare for the first 100 hours of playing. But once the caps got their work out, the pre came alive and is a huge improvement over the way it sounded with the stock caps.

Good luck.
Trust me, there are more than a dozen:) I have had $5,000 amps. Don't need um anymore. I got HEMI to play with. This amp for $200 keeps me happy. Enjoy!!