To answer the question I think 200-300 hours or so should do it. Mine was a demo so I can't be sure but it's always sounded good.
I'm not sure what CDs and associated equipment other people are listening to when they say a Marantz SA7S1 is "too focused", has "unnatural timbre", is "precise", is "hard sounding" or "analytical". Something else is really wrong. None of that is evident on a good system. I couldn't stand the sound of most CD players until I got this one and never bothered getting one until this came along.
I'd hit myself over the head hard with a tennis racquet before I'd try a tube buffer stage or anything else drastic on this unit. Note that every other piece of equipment in my system IS SERIOUSLY / INSANELY modified even all my Pass Labs stuff (although I may not quite as fanatical as Dave -- how about TX2575s everywhere next?).
This player is resolving but very musical, has a wide and deep soundstage and has almost perfect tonal balance. SACD is wonderful & CD can sound great with a good recording but is sometimes a bit less engaging and listenable. The one consistent failing is that deep bass lacks weight & impact (my subs are flat to below 20Hz). There might be just a smidge of transparency that's lost with this but I'm guessing.
If you own one of these you've made a good choice & should be very happy once it's broken in.
I'm not sure what CDs and associated equipment other people are listening to when they say a Marantz SA7S1 is "too focused", has "unnatural timbre", is "precise", is "hard sounding" or "analytical". Something else is really wrong. None of that is evident on a good system. I couldn't stand the sound of most CD players until I got this one and never bothered getting one until this came along.
I'd hit myself over the head hard with a tennis racquet before I'd try a tube buffer stage or anything else drastic on this unit. Note that every other piece of equipment in my system IS SERIOUSLY / INSANELY modified even all my Pass Labs stuff (although I may not quite as fanatical as Dave -- how about TX2575s everywhere next?).
This player is resolving but very musical, has a wide and deep soundstage and has almost perfect tonal balance. SACD is wonderful & CD can sound great with a good recording but is sometimes a bit less engaging and listenable. The one consistent failing is that deep bass lacks weight & impact (my subs are flat to below 20Hz). There might be just a smidge of transparency that's lost with this but I'm guessing.
If you own one of these you've made a good choice & should be very happy once it's broken in.