Shadorne,
I'm not an engineer, but your suggestions about burn-in resistant designs certainly sound plausible. Are your Anthem and Bryston designed around those principles? If not, are you searching for amplification that is? What have you found that meets your criteria?
Onhwy61,
Now you've opened another whole field of inquiry. I too believe mechanical components break in (not burn!) and that the effects are very audible. I own Zu Druids, and was discussing break in with Sean Casey, and he said the whole reason they started running in the big drivers at the factory was because they had too many returns; people would set them up and hate the sound of the new stiff drivers and want to send them back, not being patient enough to wait the 200-400 hours they need to loosen up.
I was thinking about your earlier post:
If all that is true, how do we ever make judgments about whether one component is better than another? What time span is short enough to be able to accurate compare differences in what we hear? I use Albert's method of taking some notes, and I have my wife listen and give me her opinion - she hears completely different things than I do. I also use a few recordings I know VERY well as a reference.
If we truly have such lousy auditory memories, it certainly explains why we sometimes seem to be chasing our tails on the upgrade path.
David
I'm not an engineer, but your suggestions about burn-in resistant designs certainly sound plausible. Are your Anthem and Bryston designed around those principles? If not, are you searching for amplification that is? What have you found that meets your criteria?
Onhwy61,
Now you've opened another whole field of inquiry. I too believe mechanical components break in (not burn!) and that the effects are very audible. I own Zu Druids, and was discussing break in with Sean Casey, and he said the whole reason they started running in the big drivers at the factory was because they had too many returns; people would set them up and hate the sound of the new stiff drivers and want to send them back, not being patient enough to wait the 200-400 hours they need to loosen up.
I was thinking about your earlier post:
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.
If all that is true, how do we ever make judgments about whether one component is better than another? What time span is short enough to be able to accurate compare differences in what we hear? I use Albert's method of taking some notes, and I have my wife listen and give me her opinion - she hears completely different things than I do. I also use a few recordings I know VERY well as a reference.
If we truly have such lousy auditory memories, it certainly explains why we sometimes seem to be chasing our tails on the upgrade path.
David