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

Hi Whart, Its been a long while since I posted or we spoke..Times have certainly changed since the 1980s .Audiophiles would discuss and debate questions like Ozzys .We listened and appreciated others thoughts.Sometimes we learned from them .Today its more like I am right and you are wrong.Also I have always wondered why some of us here trust the ears of others more then their own. Hope you are well and happy in your  part of the world.I miss New York.

Break in is real and not all can hear it.  Not all of us have the same ability to discern differences.  Even a great deal of experience and diligence can’t fully erase our real physical/mental differences human to human. That simple.  
 

I am a super-taster as confirmed by testing.  I can taste differences in food/product formulations better, far better, than most.  Born this way and experience/learning has helped.  But, I was born with a good measure of this “ability”.  Same principle applies to hearing and the other senses.   Some of it can be learned, but how each of us is created also plays a big role as we are not all the same. So if someone cannot hear this or that sound difference, then understand that is reality and there is really no reason to say it is the same reality for all others.  Take it up with our Lord and creator.  
 

No, I cannot taste the difference between a red and brown M&M. 🤓

@douglas_schroeder My brain has been brainstorming. What I’ve come to realize is your assessments naturally lead to very illogical conclusions. All of which pose more questions than answers.

All of the points below are of the assumptions the system sound is static and the change is only the ears playing tricks.

1) Why do some components sound different with burn-in and only with new products.

2) Why does the burn-in vary so much from almost 0 to even 500 hours.

3) If the ears perceive changes that aren’t really there, why does it only happen with new components.

4) If amplifiers warm up is false, why does it always sound virtually near its best at 90-120 mins mark. 

5) If the ears perceive changes, why does it not perceive change in your direct comparison. This sounds more like your ears are unable to differentiate direct comparisons. 

6) If our ears perceive changes that don’t exist, why do established system sounds identical every time? In other words, why do our ears detect no changes when there is in fact no changes, like a system that we 

7) I know exactly what my amp sounds like when it’s cool vs when it’s warm. Why does my amp sound its best after 2 hours warmup time, regardless of how long I’ve sat down and listened? The amp warmup sound is completely independent from my listening duration. 

 

@grannyring Yes, listening is a skill and it is indeed quite a skill. 

Plenty of people cannot tell the difference between 120hz and 144hz, but the difference is indeed there. 

@douglas_schroeder You admitted your beliefs tend to change over the years. But you choose to die on the hill where you fully relied on your hearing when it's at its weakest.