Burn in question and evaluation before burn in

Shadorne,

I'm glad we agree. :-)

I think the question then becomes, is it even possible to build an amp that is unaffected by component burn-in? My experience, and not just with the Almarro, leads me to believe that it's difficult, maybe impossible. Do you own such a piece, or have an example you know of? Do you think such pieces inherently sound better than ones that experience burn-in, or do they just drive you less crazy because they don't change?

David

The discussion is veering towards the absurd. Are people seriously arguing that they can accurately compare the changes in the sound of high quality systems when separated by hundreds of hours of actual listening time? It can't be done. Memory is not that reliable. If a component takes 400 hours to fully settle in, that translates to 2 or 3 calendar months (assuming 3 or 4 hours/day of listening). There are too many variables involved for any reliable comparative conclusions to be drawn over such a time span.

Onhwy61...yup!

There are too many variables involved for any reliable comparative conclusions to be drawn over such a time span.

I agree, unless the differences in the particular case are very great, AND extreme care is taken to rule out extraneous variables. A few possible extraneous variables which come to mind include the following; there are undoubtedly many others as well:

Ongoing aging or burn-in of OTHER system components; seasonally-related temperature changes in the room affecting component performance; changes (also possibly seasonally-related) in line voltage, or in noise levels on the ac line; if records are used, subtle wear in record grooves due to repeated playings; and last but certainly not least, improved perception by the listener of subtle details in the music, due to repeated listening.

Regards,
-- Al

Onhwy61,

That's a totally valid point, but it cuts both ways. If it's impossible for us burn-in believers to ascertain differences from 0 hours to 400, then it's also impossible for burn-in denyers (or those with a preference for equipment that doesn't burn-in, like Shadorne) to ascertain whether a piece sounds the same after 400 hours.

To do my above experiment really correctly, I guess you'd have to take two identical stock Almarros, modify one, let it burn in, and then compare it in an identical system and room to the stock one.

Of course, that would be the kind of scientific rigor that we audiophiles reject, because then we'd have nothing to argue about.

:-)

David