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Breaking in a Rhea phonostage

I got a Rhea phonostage recently, and I've probably put about 100 hours on it by now. My sense is that it isn't broken in. Sounds pretty good, but still seems a bit inconsistent, not to mention that it hasn't hit me with the analog "magic" that I've been anticipating. Any thoughts about how long it should take to break in? (It's replacing an EAR 834P, which I liked pretty darn well...in fact, in my memory, just a bit better than the Rhea. But we all know about musical memory...)

Thanks much.
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Showing 1 response by rushton

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rushton
2,445 posts
 
Don't try to judge it yet. I can't speak from direct experience with the Rhea, but it should take 200 hours of music playing time for the capacitors to break in, and it will continue to sound better for up to 400 hours. Keep listening! Also, cycling the unit through power up and power down over this time will add to the break in process since the thermal changes impact break in as well.
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