Funny, I found the exact same settings as Phillyb to sound best in my system. I too have had mine for about 4 months, and break in has been long. How do I know I hear a difference? I bought a Lumin T2 at about the same time and have A/B'd them ever since. When I first got them they were hard to tell apart. Now the Marantz is ever so smooth, detailed, and has a much different presentation in soundstage compared to the other. The Lumin is excellent in its own right. I prefer the Marantz however, especially with DSD/SACD material.