[Phil]

Just plugged it in and it worked.   

So, now the inevitable break-in questions:

1)  how long does it take to open up (it seems 300 hours for full potential).

2)  how are folks breaking in their BDP-1s?  To reduce wear and tear on my old PC and the USB hard drive, I loaded a USB flash drive with albums and play the entire drive using the buttons on the front panel.  12 hours on (night) and 12 hours off (daytime).  Just curious what others are doing.  I don't believe there is a right or wrong way to break in equipment...

Phil 

[James Tanner]

Just plugged it in and it worked.   

So, now the inevitable break-in questions:

1)  how long does it take to open up (it seems 300 hours for full potential).

2)  how are folks breaking in their BDP-1s?  To reduce wear and tear on my old PC and the USB hard drive, I loaded a USB flash drive with albums and play the entire drive using the buttons on the front panel.  12 hours on (night) and 12 hours off (daytime).  Just curious what others are doing.  I don't believe there is a right or wrong way to break in equipment...

Phil

Hi Phil,

What I do is play one of the 16 radio stations - first Jazz one is great .

james

[zybar]

Phil,

Why are you shutting it off for 12 hours, why not play it 24/7?

I am playing music via my attached HD 24/7 - I am not worried about wear and tear.

I have almost a week of play on my BDP-1 and BDA-1 and there is definitely a difference from how it sounded out of the box.

George

[James Tanner]

Phil,

Why are you shutting it off for 12 hours, why not play it 24/7?

I am playing music via my attached HD 24/7 - I am not worried about wear and tear.

I have almost a week of play on my BDP-1 and BDA-1 and there is definitely a difference from how it sounded out of the box.

George

Hi George

I am very interested in your thoughts on what changes during break- in?

James

[jtwrace]

If there are any caps the unit I'd highly recommend not running it 24/7.  12 on and 12 off is probably the second best next to just listening to it as you normally would. 

[Phil]

Thanks, James.  That is the only station I've listened to and it sounds very good already (great music, since I'm a jazz fan).  When breaking-in the unit over night, my aim is to use only the unit itself and leave everything else off.  A fully loaded USB flash drive does the trick. 

George,
Simple:  my wife doesn't like having stuff running during the day when we aren't home (clearly other stuff is running, but I balance her understanding about buying all these, sometimes expensive, black boxes with giving in on electrical issues).  Weekends are 24/7. 

As for the hard drive, my habits were formed when MTBF rates weren't quite what they are today.  This old dog probably needs to change his ways. 

I'm also interested in what you find in the break-in process.    The unit is very flat out of the box, but wasn't expecting anything different.

Fun stuff. 

Phil

[DaveNote]

Hi Phil: I'm not at all confident in the ability of my old ears to make fine distinctions, but I have had my BDP-1 for a long time - serial no. 13, which means many hundreds if not thousands of hours running. I can't hear any noticeable differences from the week I bought it. Perhaps younger ears can.

[zybar]

If there are any caps the unit I'd highly recommend not running it 24/7.  12 on and 12 off is probably the second best next to just listening to it as you normally would.

Why?

George

[jtwrace]

Why?

George

Cap forming.

[ricko01]

Cap forming.

Jury is out on this and has been for some time.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/parts/161714-capacitor-forming.html

[jtwrace]

Right.  If you keep searching that forum you will also find where someone does actual tests on the caps to prove otherwise.

Regardless, I had Wilson Shen and Gordon Rankin both tell me to NOT run the equipment 24/7 for break-in.  With them being the incredible designers they are, I figured I'd also listen to them.  They are both very adamant about it actually.

Do as you choose though...it's your equipment! 

[Anonamemouse]

Right.  If you keep searching that forum you will also find where someone does actual tests on the caps to prove otherwise.

Links please? I am definitely interested in both sides of the story...

Regardless, I had Wilson Shen and Gordon Rankin both tell me to NOT run the equipment 24/7 for break-in.  With them being the incredible designers they are, I figured I'd also listen to them.  They are both very adamant about it actually.

Do as you choose though...it's your equipment!

Very much +1

[jtwrace]

Links please? I am definitely interested in both sides of the story...

Very much +1

They're posted if someone really wants to find them.  At the end of the day, do what you think is correct or what the manufacturer recommends.  That's what I've done regardless whether you agree or not. 

[zybar]

Hi George

I am very interested in your thoughts on what changes during break- in?

James

I now have around 150 hours on my BDP-1/BDA-1 combo and its sound has changed from when I took it out of the box and connected it.

To my ears, here are the areas that have improved:

• Highs are less harsh and have less of an edge
• Midrange is more open and less congested
• Bass is more solid and powerful sounding - stronger initial attack
• There is more detail overall while being smoother sounding
• The sound stage and image is larger and less constricted

I know that our auditory memory is very fleeting so I write down notes when I am doing an exercise like this so I can compare and contrast.  I believe that it also helps that I know my system very well and haven't been making many changes.  I also use the same test songs over and over.  I am very familiar with these songs and in some cases I have literally listened to them 1000's of times.

Here are some of the test songs:

"Gold to Me" from Ben Harper's Fight For Your Mind
"Sunken Treasure" from Wilco's Being There (Disc 2)
"Carnival" and "The Letter" from Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily
"YYZ" from Rush's Moving Pictures
"Laugh as the Sun" from Rusted Root's When I Woke
"Black Coffee" and "I've Got You Under My Skin" from Peggy Lee's Black Coffee
"Domino" from Roland Kirk's Domino
"Keep The Bugs Off Your Glass and the Bears Off Your Ass" from the Bad Plus' These Are The Vistas
"Lost and Lookin'" from Sam Cooke's Night Beat
"Babylon Sisters" from Steely Dan's Gaucho

George

[James Tanner]

I now have around 150 hours on my BDP-1/BDA-1 combo and its sound has changed from when I took it out of the box and connected it.

To my ears, here are the areas that have improved:

• Highs are less harsh and have less of an edge
• Midrange is more open and less congested
• Bass is more solid and powerful sounding - stronger initial attack
• There is more detail overall while being smoother sounding
• The sound stage and image is larger and less constricted

I know that our auditory memory is very fleeting so I write down notes when I am doing an exercise like this so I can compare and contrast.  I believe that it also helps that I know my system very well and haven't been making many changes.  I also use the same test songs over and over.  I am very familiar with these songs and in some cases I have literally listened to them 1000's of times.

Here are some of the test songs:

"Gold to Me" from Ben Harper's Fight For Your Mind
"Sunken Treasure" from Wilco's Being There (Disc 2)
"Carnival" and "The Letter" from Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily
"YYZ" from Rush's Moving Pictures
"Laugh as the Sun" from Rusted Root's When I Woke
"Black Coffee" and "I've Got You Under My Skin" from Peggy Lee's Black Coffee
"Domino" from Roland Kirk's Domino
"Keep The Bugs Off Your Glass and the Bears Off Your Ass" from the Bad Plus' These Are The Vistas
"Lost and Lookin'" from Sam Cooke's Night Beat
"Babylon Sisters" from Steely Dan's Gaucho

George

Thanks George.

james

[Phil]

I get to answer my own question.

Break-in was about 350 hours (now have > 400).  What a wonderful piece of gear.

Audio nervosa clouds a vision of the future, but this may well be the capstone of my system.  The kind of gear that not only speaks volumes about Bryston but has confirmed all of my previous decisions about gear and cables.   

Very cool stuff. 

[Marius]

Never was a firm Break-in believer, but I must admit that listening to Michael Jackson's Dangerous, I never heard those deep bass frequency devided tones this clear, defined and, well, deep....

Bass indeed getting better and better after about 2 months of playing all kinds software....amazing really. Still don't believe it's possible, or understand why.

(I do tend to believe sounding even better over the BNC/BNC link to the BDA then over the AES/EBU. )

Marius

To my ears, here are the areas that have improved:

• Bass is more solid and powerful sounding - stronger initial attack

George