Why does it take so many hours to brea in arc preamps and amps?

I've never heard anyone say that their component sounded worse after break in.  If break in is a real phenomenon, then statistically how is that possible?  Unless it explains why we constantly 'upgrade' to new gear.  What if gear only sounded good for 1-200 hours, and then it was all downhill from there.  Obviously, over very long periods of time component parts degrade and do need replacement.  But I would not call that part of "break in."

a lie told many times becomes truth.

V Lenin.

Most of my experience with break-in (as opposed to warm-up) is with speaker crossovers, and caps. Replacing a cap takes at least 24-72 hours for them to settle in and give you a "final" version of the sound.

I wish I understood the physics. :) I understand one hypothesis that is often stated as likely is placebo. I understand why it’s such a possible and easy answer but to me it’s not enough.

Like other things in Audio, it remains an area not fully explored. I hope someday there will be results that better explain what we perceive.

Best,

E

I’ll add transformers to my above post...

tho I have seen reviewers say the teflon caps.

The real question is what ARC says...

Anyway just leave the system on with a CD on repeat or something while you run errands, etc.

BTW, having a "long" break-in time isn't necessarily indicative of Teflon caps. I've had ARC gear that claimed a 500 hour break in with nothing fancier than Wima polypropylene caps.