New amplifier break-in

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Housteau

New amplifier break-in
« on: 28 Apr 2024, 06:39 am »
I have tended to favor buying used components because they are fully broken in and can be fully enjoyed immediately.  I recently had Klaus remake my older Stratos Extreme SE monos into the current no-holes-barred state of his current amplifier art. Everything is basically new and now I have quite a long break-in period to go through.  I have a multi-amped system and so I am able to keep the new Odyssey amps on bass duty until they are ready for prime time. 

I keep them powered up 24/7, weather permitting.  When listening to music I keep them on bass duty, but when not listening I run full range music through them at low volumes continuously, once again 24/7.  I would guess that as of now they have around 500 hrs running on music and even more with just being powered up.  I have heard them go through several stages of improvement already, but they are still far from being close to being ready.  As of now one amp has a noticeable glare with the higher frequencies and the other one, less so.  I am hoping that somewhere between 1000 and 2000 hrs running on music that things should snap into place and become fully listenable?  What say you?  What have your experiences been?


justjed

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Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #1 on: 29 Apr 2024, 06:41 pm »
I say, anyone that doesn't believe in break-in should purchase a new Odyssey amp! My Khartago SE Extreme took a couple of months before it completely stabilized. I expected it, so I never had to call Klaus and ask if it was supposed to sound like that. I also leave it powered up 24/7. It's been in the system for a little more than a year now, and it's not going anywhere. To say it was worth it is a serious understatement!

rollo

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Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #2 on: 29 Apr 2024, 06:47 pm »
I say, anyone that doesn't believe in break-in should purchase a new Odyssey amp! My Khartago SE Extreme took a couple of months before it completely stabilized. I expected it, so I never had to call Klaus and ask if it was supposed to sound like that. I also leave it powered up 24/7. It's been in the system for a little more than a year now, and it's not going anywhere. To say it was worth it is a serious understatement!



 Could not agree more about run in. May I suggest after so long being on to demag the system. Esoteric, Ayre,discs work wonders. Have fun.


charles

toocool4

Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #3 on: 29 Apr 2024, 09:16 pm »
Equipment break-in is a real thing, and you can hear sound change over time. My kit is left on all the time, I have been in this flat for over 4 years now and the kit has been on all that time.

Even though the sound does change over time, I would also say it does not move too far from the position it started from. We have all heard the saying, “an apple does not fall far from the tree”. If you don’t like the sound of something out of the box and expect a radical transformation at the end of a break-in period, well you are in for a shock.

If you don’t like how your kits sounds after 500 hours ish of use, I don’t think you will like them in the end. 500 hours is plenty of time for thinks to bed-in and settle down.

Digi-G

Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #4 on: 30 Apr 2024, 12:57 pm »
I definitely experienced the break-in sound with my Stratos.  It was not subtle, but I can also say that it didn't take 500 hours.  In my case the biggest change was over several days.  Over the next few weeks it settled in and the sound became a bit... 'sweeter'.  I can't say I heard any changes after that, on my system.  I won't say it was listenable right out of the box, but it was very listenable after 10-14 days or so.

If you're approaching 1000 hours and you think it still doesn't sound right... I guess I'd be tempted to call Klaus.  Maybe there's a bias issue or something unique about your setup.  I think you should be happy and enjoying your amps by now.

Randy

Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #5 on: 30 Apr 2024, 06:52 pm »
The issue of component break-in is smoky at best.  Maybe you just get used to its sound after a while.  You're listening gets broken in, not the amp.  I can see it with speakers, but electronics, not so much.  I know Klaus believes in it, so that counts for a lot.   

When I got my mono Extremes and saw Klaus at a show later, he asked how long they took to break in. I didn't have a good answer, since I thought they sounded great from the get go, and stayed that way thereafter.

Housteau

Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #6 on: 3 May 2024, 02:57 am »
I am currently out of town and will continue break-in once I get back.  I will also swap the right and left amps to see if the noticed issue also moves with that amp.

I do have two other fine sets of mono amps to compare with and that is how I know something is off.  For now I am assuming it is just a break-in issue.

Crusty

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Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #7 on: 4 May 2024, 08:07 pm »
Flat, grainy, strident, shouty, raw.  Incohesive, no emotional interest, doesn't let go of the music. These are all words I jotted down to describe how my new Odysseys sounded before they burned in. 
Now they are round, dimensional, meaty, open, sweet, incisive.  The music soars and fills the soundstage, into the room.
Have faith and patience.   You will be rewarded.

Housteau

Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #8 on: 5 May 2024, 10:38 pm »
Have faith and patience.   You will be rewarded.

I have no doubt that indeed good things can come to those with the patience to allow it to happen, and that this is one of those times.  I am a demanding listener and I think anything less would be an insult to Klaus.  It would almost be like saying that I like background music and so I will just buy an Odyssey to fill that need.
 
The frame of reference I am using is based on the finest amplifiers I have had in the past and those I continue to use in my system, both SS and tube.  I was prepared for this process to take some time and that is why I continue to play music through them 24/7.  The changes they have already gone through have not been what I would call subtle at all.  Just within the last one hundred hours both amplifiers have evened out to equal each other in character and that character is beginning to come into its own.  Who knows, it may just take a few hundred more hours to be contenders.

Housteau

Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #9 on: 10 May 2024, 10:58 pm »
It has been around another 100 hours of burn-in and the sound is progressing nicely.  All the previous negative artifacts are now gone.  Each note is now clean and fully fleshed out with extreme detail.

The changes so far when I first received my new amps have not been subtle and fine, but rather on the gross side of the scale.  They are now fully listenable and resemble the sound from quality highly neutral SS amps, but are not at world class level yet.

From this point on I anticipate a slower fine scale of change inching towards a refinement in musicality.  I am not saying they are harsh sounding at all, just not fully liquid as my EL-34 tube amp and they shouldn't be.  But, they do need to move further in that direction without crossing that too liquid like line.

Housteau

Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #10 on: 13 May 2024, 05:30 am »
I had planned to check DC offsets and bias when well into the burn-in process and felt this was a good time to do it.  Both amps were off a good bit with the right one being the worst, which just happened to be the one I had heard the most issues with.  With the level of my build and components used I believe Klaus set my bias to 19mV initially.  I adjusted everything back to spec but went to 20 instead of 19mV. 

As expected the sound has improved even more towards what I have been expecting.  I will keep checking for more drift as this process continues.

Housteau

Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #11 on: 16 May 2024, 04:20 pm »
The amps have another 150 music hours on them.  They have really transformed into musical treasures and I am sure that they will still continue to improve over time.  I don't feel the need to continue them on a 24/7 music schedule any longer and will just let them continue to break in at a more normal pace.  In reality they have arrived with All promises fullfilled.

When I mentioned in my previous post that the readings were pretty off, that was partially due to my misunderstanding of what acceptable tolerances actually were.  I was being too much of a perfectionist.  The DC offsets were actually just fine.  I just fine tuned them.  The bias on one half of one board had dropped to an average of 16mV.  But, all is well now and holding.

Housteau

Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #12 on: 16 May 2024, 04:49 pm »
The amplifiers have just under 800 music hours on them now.

aricml

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Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #13 on: 16 May 2024, 07:17 pm »
What's the progress after so many hours?

Housteau

Re: New amplifier break-in
« Reply #14 on: 16 May 2024, 08:39 pm »
What's the progress after so many hours?

As I had mentioned above, I find them to be all that I had anticipated them to become.  They can stand proudly with some of the best out there. 

I did not come to Klaus and Odyssey for a great amp at a great price.  I did not come for a compromise of any kind.  I simply wanted a great amplifier.  With the cost restraints removed and the choosing of internal components based solely on their sound quality, I feel that goal was achieved.