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

Stuartk, thank you for your comment. 

I am not guiding audiophiles to ignore what they hear. I guide as to what it is you are hearing, then direct you to use methods that will advance your system. I have the experience of "break in" as often as anyone else, however, as I explain in the book, I no longer pay any attention to it. 

If you read the book, I will teach you how to use what you hear to much more effectively advance your system. 

It seems there are many audiophiles who would benefit greatly from my book. :)

Let no one say I am promoting the idea that "break in" as a phenomenon is not real. As I said above, I have the experience regularly, every time I set up a new system. The only problem is, it is a poor way to advance a system, especially with a new component, cable, or speaker.  

If you disagree, kindly read the book before you suggest I have no idea what I am talking about. I am not going to enter protracted (friendly) argument here. I wrote the book to share my testing, experiences, and conclusions. 

The book costs $30 for the paperback version. If you spend the money, you likely will reap rewards many times the cost from learning how to avoid ineffective methods in system building. 

If you wish to simply make a bald face statement I am wrong and do not wish to learn all that stands behind the Audiophile Laws, especially the system building which informs my conclusions. then I have little motivation to argue about it. 

Of course, you could build identical systems side by side, like I did, and find out for yourself. 

@ghdprentice 

 

nothing in your post convinces me.  It isn’t relevant how many pieces you’ve’broken in’ or how much you have spent on audio over the years.  I still contend that it’s your brain adjusting to slight differences in sonic signatures amongst components   Developments in Neurobiology over the past few decades show differences in brain stimulation when being repetitively stimulated over time by the same impulse .

  It’s just energy being given off as electrons traverse a magnetic field.  I don’t see how it matters if it’s the first time the electrons have made the journey or the 100th time.

  However since there really is no way to objectively prove it one way or another being dogmatic on either side of question isn’t very productive 
  

@mahler123 

You are like me: There is nothing anybody can write or say that will convince you, you have to experiment and hear the difference yourself. This is an admirable attribute. 

If you want to discover this effect for yourself, install a new Furutech GTX-D NCF(R) rhodium outlet for your equipment, and observe the changes in sound over the next 200+ hours. I expect the difference to be so obvious that even a system with basic cables and cheap speaker wire will prove the point beyond debate.

I will explain how this works just as soon as I figure out how mass governs gravity. Give me a few weeks. 

@mahler123 - Then please explain to me how I can get a pair of headphones, take them out of the box and they sound terrible and I'm ready to send them back, then I put them on a stand and play music through them without putting them on for 150 hours or so, then put them back on and they sound completely different and I keep them. Nobody is 'getting used to' anything in this situation.