[Lkdog]

Am very curious about the real world break in of these amps.
I have read that some folks feel it is 300 hours of 24/7 and they are good to go.
Others believe much differently and that it takes three months or more of regular play until they settle in.

I am on week 2 (around 14 days) of 24/7 (about 300 hours) and they sound good one day and not so good the next.

I am also using mostly low volumes as they run all day and night when I am not around and I do some listening sessions at typical volumes (75-85db). Does only playing mostly at low volume slow the process down?

Thanks. I hope this Poll is OK to post.


Any anecdotal comments are welcome!

[Lkdog]

Thanks for the responses to the poll and keep them coming.

I have to say they definitely keep changing for the better every couple days still.

I am now around 350 hours or so (17 days)

The detail and extension keeps improving.

Quite a pair of amps. Startling at times.
 

[Lkdog]

Bump.

[djbnh]

I cannot answer your poll because it does not cover my situation. I burned in my Extreme Monos for about 400 hours, 24/7 (volume set at slightly louder than normal listening levels); that comes to approx. 17 days of continuous play. A dual-well cassette deck was used extensively for burn-in purposes for the times when I wasn't home to enjoy the tunes. YMMV.

[Lkdog]

Well, it is not exactly a scientific poll.
I would think you would fall into the 3-4 week 24/7 category if you wanted to vote.
Thanks for the info.

[Musicalmaniac]

Break in on the Mono Extemes can be very agonizing. The best advice I could give would be just leave the amps turned on 24-7 and forget about running a source though them. Try to just play music as normal and not read into anything more than normal. For me I think after six weeks the amps were 80 percent at their best. I've owned them for over a year now and I would like to say they are only getting better. In or around my second week of break in I was almost positive the amps were going back to Klaus, however the next day they were beautiful. It was a brutal up and down swing for me. Klaus made it plain to me that it was not neccesary to run a source through the amps for break in. Just leave them on 24-7.

[Lkdog]

Thanks everybody for the input.

I am now over 500 hours and almost four weeks.
They seem to have pretty much settled in at this point.
I am not noticing any real changes recently.

Very pleased with the sound.

[Bigfish]

LkDog,

I am waiting on my Mono Extreme SEs to arrive and am wondering what power source did yours replace?  Any comments you can make on performance differences you have heard.

Thanks,

Ken

[bpape]

Working on 4 weeks now with source - variable output.  Pretty well settled.  Excellent imaging, bottom end, nice top end with a tube pre.  Absolutely well worth the asking price and then some.

Bryan

[TomS]

I'm just getting started since Klaus just returned my Mono Extreme SE's Saturday and they've been on 24/7 since arrival.  I'd say they're pretty darn good already though.  More to come.  Tom

[Lkdog]

LkDog,

I am waiting on my Mono Extreme SEs to arrive and am wondering what power source did yours replace?  Any comments you can make on performance differences you have heard.

Thanks,

Ken

I replaced a TRL modified Musical Fidelity A300 integrated amp which was 150W X 2. After the TRL mods it was an excellent sounding amp with no grain, a black background, and great detail and soundstage.

I am now using an Audio Mirror PP1 tube preamp and the Odyssey Mono Extremes as noted in my signature.

The Odysseys/Audio Mirror combo has more impact and authority than the TRL MF A300, but retain a great level of detail and smoothness. Clearly my ACI monitors have benefited from the massive power of the Mono Extremes and there is an increased sense of realism, separation of instruments, and a relaxed power in the presentation. Hard to do a real A/B as the Audio Mirror clearly has a lot to do with the presentation and I have been tube rolling a bit to boot.

I always felt that the ACI Jaguar monitors (86db) needed more power to really sing and it is pretty clear they love the extra juice.

In a nutshell-smooth relaxed effortless power. Very happy.