LFD NCSE Mk II Break In Period?

Hello Donjr. I have Joseph Audio RM7 XLs a neutral speaker for sure, not bright, but certainly detailed. After running a signal, (cd on repeat) through the LFD 24/7 for the past 6 days, I'm beginning to think a soft dome tweeter speaker such as the Harbeth may be the way to go with this amp. As it sounds now, I'm disappointed to report that the LFD is just not rounding out as I had hoped, sounding every bit as bright, thin and brassy as any other solid state amp. If your interested, I'll give you a great deal on a week old LFD NCSE Mk II. Thanks

Thanks fellas, appreciate the voice of reason, I'll give it some more time but like Pcoombs, I'm incredulous that it will change that much. My mistake, for some reason I thought Harbeths were of the soft dome type. While I've never heard them I know they have a strong following and Donjr you're right, they're seem to be a whole bunch of people that swear by the LFD/Harbetth combo. I also had the same impression of the Ayre sound, i.e. wonderful, delicate air in and around the musicians but a bit bass shy indeed. No where close to Rochester and I swore off years of tube dedication which led me to my first SS piece a Bryston and now the LFD.

That's crossed my mind Pcoombs however I'm afraid my inner audiophile simple won't allow for such a filter to be introduced. Interestingly enough, I just heard from Howard Popeck of Sound Now, Howard may be the leading authority on LFD gear, he was adamant that the NCSE would indeed continue to improve and implored me to give it at least 200 hrs and was surprised that my dealer did not make a point of this when I bought it. I have actually heard the 200 hr rule before as it pertains to this amp however was a little skeptical knowing what it sounds like after a 100 hrs. I'll be sure to keep you posted as I continue to run a signal through. Thanks, J.

While I have always believed that a suffcient amount of run-in time to hear a particular component at it's best a reality, (especially when it comes to speakers) Like you, I was a bit skeptical how much audible difference it would make with this amp since it already has 100 hrs or so under it's belt, but, the 200 hrs, (minimum) isn't the first I've heard regarding the LFD so we'll see and I'll certainly post my impressions. I was a bit surprised to read that you found the same characteristic when paired with the M30s, was the LFD you were listening to new?

Home audition is absolutely the ideal way to go, however, unfortunately often times next to impossible to arrange. The NCSE has definitely improved over the last 100 hrs although still a bit on the cool side as you referenced from the article. While this amp is demonstrating some very positive qualities, I am just hoping that within the next 100 hrs or so to hear a little less bite and a little more bloom. Stay tuned!

Hi Michael, thanks for reminding me to follow up on this thread. Yes, thankfully my new NCSE began to come into it own in a very obvious and to a very noticeable way, (as suggested) once it hit around 200 hrs. This was a bit surprising because even though I had read to be patient, I couldn't imagine it would improve as much as it did from 100 to 200 hours but it certainly did. What initially sounded like a thin, mechanical, ordinary presentation absolutely blossomed in a 100 hour time period to a very well balanced, liquid, and human sound, great amp. I can't ever recall experiencing a component with such an obvious response to break in,