Break In Question?


I have been under the assumption that in order for a component to break in there must be a signal pass through from one piece of equipment to another. That is, running a Dac/Preamp into an amp, the amp must be turned on for the Dac/Preamp to break in.

But is this really true? Does the amp really need to be turned on?

ozzy

ozzy

Vintage Equipment that has not been played for a long time:

start with low voltage, using a Variac. Progressively increase the voltage

i.e say 20 volts for 5 minutes, 30 for five, ..... until you get to a bit below ____ (it’s voltage rating) i.e. Japanese (100v) I stop at 90 v on the dial; USA (115/120 V) I stop at 100v on the dial.*

It’s not rocket science, just advised caution.

*Thus it absolutely does not matter if the Variac, new or old, is a bit off, say 5%, just start low, and finish below rated voltage. 

Thank you for the replies to my question. It really helps.

Just about all of my equipment has been purchased new, this is the first time in a long time that I have a new piece.

ozzy

@hilde45 laugh

@mahler123 - Not subjective; most of the time it's very easy to tell the difference between speakers/headphones/cartridges that have been broken in for a few hundred hours and ones right out of the box; sometimes the difference is dramatic, and the difference between returning an item or keeping it. Perhaps you've not experienced this, but it doesn't mean it's not real. 

Correction:

I meant to type most of my equipment has been purchased used. The Lumin X2 is new thus my question on breakin.

ozzy