2. amps-preamps
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Can anyone explain in laymans terms why your gear sound better after warm up

I get burn in... should be called burn off just to get the manufacturing process off all the different manufacturers and parts to sweat off the packaging and sealants. But a light bulb is on or off. So SS gear in theory should sound the same. A light bulb does not get brighter after an hour. Is it your ears get programmed? Or is there and actual technical reason that it sounds better? Please pretend Im a four year old cause with Electronics I am.

-ALLGOOD
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maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
Did anyone mention the new Danny Richie video posted on Tuesday tech talk ? He just went over drivers and made some comments on expensive caps . Seemed like he was going to tackle caps , resistors in the near future
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,933 posts
 
@almarg...Al, I thought your answer was perfect. I have learned so much from you over the MANY years we have been on this forum.

Thanks for being here!
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,824 posts
 
"Temperature is a parameter that is fundamental to the physics of transistors, analog and digital integrated circuits, and other semiconductor devices. Consequently their behavior varies significantly as a function of temperature, and a competent designer will design the product to perform at its best when it has warmed up to a stable internal temperature, while being used in a room that is at a normal room temperature."

That’s pretty easy to understand.

Also please refrain from attacking those who offer sound detailed technical information relevant to the topic at hand just because you prefer to wing it and expect others to accept your opinions regarding little known, expensive and controversial products.

No engineers, no hifi. Cut and dry. Winging it alone won’t cut it. That should be pretty easy to understand as well. Or one might try smearing some expensive carbon goop on a pair of tin cans connected by a wire and find out how good things can sound.
abraxalito
93 posts
 
My guess is its mostly about electrolytic capacitors. They're the staple on power supplies and they have equivalent series resistance (ESR) which is fairly temperature sensitive. Higher temperatures lower the ESR, improving the effectiveness of the cap in reducing power supply noise.
bkeske's avatar
bkeske
5,564 posts
 

Interesting topic, though I am no electrical engineer....but....just so happens I received my ‘new’ mid-80’s Belles 400A amp this past weekend. All 60+ lb of it; two large torroidal transformers, eight huge Mallory caps, and a total of 24 Motorola MJ15023 transistors. Damn thing is a beast.


Anyway, removed my old B&K, hooked up the Belles, turned it on, and although somewhat impressed immediately, it wasn’t until an hour or two of listening that I said to myself, ‘damn this amp is getting better as I listen and it gets warmed up’. The soundstage seemed to be getting deeper, wider, more ‘lush’, and better overall imaging. After a time, I became more and more impressed. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that this should be happening or not with a solid state amp, but it sure seemed to be the case. At least that’s what my ears were telling me, or, was it just myself getting more immersed with this new ‘beast’? Dunno, but I did consciously think about it warming up = sounding better.


Since, I have turned it on at least an hour before I begin listening. I never thought about doing that with the my old B&K.


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