Burning Burn in question

Hi Edorr

So your DAC and Preamp are one and the same and not separates right? I would say just make sure music is being fed to your DAC for the 100 or so hours and also make sure your preamp is connected to the amp. No need to have the amp on unless you want to hear your set-up burning in. Whenever I'm burning a DAC or preamp I want a signal going through it.

Right--you need to burn in both the digital processors and the analog output end. Be sure volume is up to 100% if you have adj output, and have that connected to your preamp. I am of the camp where I leave all my equipment on 24/7. I think it's especially crucial for DACs as the crystal oscillator for the clock is most stable after being continuously powered on for at least a week. As Jedi says, you don't necessarily need to have your amps on, but hey, why not listen to music while you are burning it in? Then you can see how it changes over time, etc. And enjoy the music which is why we all are in this hobby I hope!

Thanks for the advise. Not sure I want to both turn the poweramp on AND play at 100% volume :), but I'll hook up the DAC/Pre to my poweramp, keep it turned off and crank the volume on the DAC all the way up.

Dont blow your ears (JK) let us know if you notice a difference after some burn-in!

I'm more concerned about blowing my speakers. I just did this a few weeks ago and was out $1,000 for new midrange drivers.

The current drawn from the dac/pre by your power amp will be well under 1/10,000th of an ampere, and most of the circuitry in the dac/pre has no involvement in supplying it. I doubt that having the power amp connected will have any influence on the burn-in effects that will occur. I agree, though, that it makes sense to have signals going into the dac/pre.

Best regards,
-- Al

Also, while it is probably very unlikely, I would not totally rule out the possibility that the long-term reliability of the input stages of the power amp could be degraded by exposing them to large amplitude signals for prolonged periods of time while in the powered down state.

-- Al