[ACHiPo]

Assuming it will take a few 10s of hours to burn in a new phono stage, and the relatively short life of phono cartridges/styli, how do people burn in phono stages?

[bacobits1]

Leave it on. Other than that why do you think it needs burn in? For that kind of money it should sound fantastic. Or buy a used one? Settling in is real but we place too much emphasis on it waiting for something to happen.
Play music and enjoy.

[rollo]

 Just keep playing records. There is a phono stage break in thingie somewhere out there just cannot remember it sorry.


charles

[bacobits1]

Hagerman used to make  a reverse riaa box something like that?

[jimdgoulding]

Yep, leave it on and play some records.  Good listening to you.

[twitch54]

play music and enjoy ! ………..

[ACHiPo]

I'm playing and enjoying, and it sounds quite nice (especially considering the preamp I hooked it to has tubes that are way past their prime).  Just wondering if others did anything clever like running a very low level line signal through it for a few days.  Thanks.

[ACHiPo]

Leave it on. Other than that why do you think it needs burn in? For that kind of money it should sound fantastic. Or buy a used one? Settling in is real but we place too much emphasis on it waiting for something to happen.
Play music and enjoy.

This is my first new phono stage, so I don't have any experience.  Never really thought of it before now, but in shopping for new phono cables I found several that are available "burned in" for a few days for a few bucks extra, and that got me wondering about phono stage burn in.

Just going to enjoy the ride.

[Flyin_V]

You can use an inverse RIAA that goes between your CD player and phono stage, the phono is loaded with 10K at the output. Include any cables you want burned in too. Play a dynamic CD or make one w/ test tones, pink and white noise, music, etc. I've always found this to improve the sound of a new phono stage. 

Good listening!

[kingdeezie]

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-7205-kab-precon-vinyl-lp-level-converter.aspx

This device, while pricey, I believe allows you to use a CD player to break in the phono stage.

Makes things go much faster, as some transformers, caps, etc, etc, can take some time.

[ACHiPo]

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-7205-kab-precon-vinyl-lp-level-converter.aspx

This device, while pricey, I believe allows you to use a CD player to break in the phono stage.

Makes things go much faster, as some transformers, caps, etc, etc, can take some time.

This looks pretty cool, and it's relatively inexpensive when I think that my MC cartridges cost about $1/hour to run.  Of course it doesn't sound awful now, so just listening while it breaks in may be fine (not sure about a new phono cable--that could be a bit harder to tolerate, but I can pay an extra $10 and have the vendor do it for me).

[VinylRob]

I've used and lent the Hagerman inverse IRIAA2 for years. It was first brought to my attention by Jim White of Aesthetix who uses them in a burn rack to condition every new, repaired, or upgraded component so that it can be audibly reviewed before shipment. I highly recommend it.

https://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify.com/products/iriaa2-inverse-riaa-filter

[hondo]

Use the Granite Audio Phono Burn-In CD from Music Direct.

[qdrone]

DUO TECH used to make a Inter connect and speaker burner and I would run the Inter Connect from the Duo Tech into the phono to burn my phono stage in. The Duo Tech sends white noise continuously. Maybe there is a used one on ebay.

[twitch54]

Leave it on. Other than that why do you think it needs burn in? For that kind of money it should sound fantastic. Or buy a used one? Settling in is real but we place too much emphasis on it waiting for something to happen.
Play music and enjoy.

agreed 100% , there is waaaaay to much audio fool nonsense out there these days.

[stevoz]

My phono stage (Vincent PHO-8) took only about two to three hours to 'hit the sweet spot', but I have learned to leave it on 24/7 to avoid waiting this long each time I play LP's for it to hit that spot again. The owners manual actually suggested this approach. It has been 'on' for about 10 months straight now.....