I can attest to the fact that components and speakers require time to burn in and sound their best. This phenomenon became apparent to me when I upgraded from Cambridge Azur separates to a Macintosh MA12000 integrated amplifier and then to Accuphase separates that consist of an A48-S Class-A amplifier, a C2300 preamplifier, and a DC-37 Processor. Both the McIntosh and Accuphase sounded horrible and not like the unit(s) I demo’d at the store. Then gradually they sounded better and after 200 hours or so, both sounded incredible. My Accuphase components really open up after a good hour of listening and become more airy, micro details and subtleties more prevalent, musically engaging, sonorous and dynamic. It’s strange but during the 1st hour the gain on my Accuphase amplifier is set low but then I set it to the highest gain and this is where the magic happens that I talked about. So I’m a firm believer in both burn-in and warm-up.
Love getting new equipment, hate the break-in
I get excited about new equipment but often get impatient with the break-in time. Some sound pretty good right from the get-go, others seem to take forever plus one day. Also, some gradually get better with time, others sound bad for a long time, like 200 hrs and then one day BOOM!, everything comes into focus seemingly all at once. Is your experience similar?
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- 43 posts total
- 43 posts total

