[DaveNote]

http://audiophilereview.com/audiophile-news/break-in.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AudiophileReview+%28Audiophile+Review%29

[SoundGame]

Totally agree.  I've experience definite effects (always improvements) with break-in on headphones, speakers and electronics - most recently with a DAC. 

The degree of break-in benefits varies and so does the time required to get to a stable/optimal level of performance. 

What would be most interesting to know is how much break-in is done on a specific component prior to the manufacturer using it to conduct user trials and spec. tests.

[DaveNote]

Totally agree.  I've experience definite effects (always improvements) with break-in on headphones, speakers and electronics - most recently with a DAC. 

The degree of break-in benefits varies and so does the time required to get to a stable/optimal level of performance. 

What would be most interesting to know is how much break-in is done on a specific component prior to the manufacturer using it to conduct user trials and spec. tests.

I read an article somewhere (could have been here) about a survey done of manufacturers, who were all over the map from break-in being a myth to being essential. My experience with break-in has been a mixed bag.

[JfTM]

I thought Bryston gear was delivered broken.  Couldn't resist

Isn't all gear run in for 100 hours?

I could be wrong here.

[SoundGame]

I thought Bryston gear was delivered broken.  Couldn't resist

Isn't all gear run in for 100 hours?

I could be wrong here.

Yes, Bryston does burn in their amplifiers as part of their quality assurance testing and I can say that I didn't experience any noteworthy improvements in Bryston components over the first few hundred hours.  On a related note, their amplifiers do tend to sound their best when warmed up - 30 to 45 minutes seems to work for my 4B.

My experience with burn-in improvements has been most noticeable with a pair of earphones from Paradigm - the e3m as well as a Musical Fidelity DAC.  Speaker too have a break-in that I've perceived - becoming more fluid, even and dynamic with more hours on but varying by speaker type and design.

[DaveNote]

Yes, Bryston does burn in their amplifiers as part of their quality assurance testing and I can say that I didn't experience any noteworthy improvements in Bryston components over the first few hundred hours.  On a related note, their amplifiers do tend to sound their best when warmed up - 30 to 45 minutes seems to work for my 4B.

My experience with burn-in improvements has been most noticeable with a pair of earphones from Paradigm - the e3m as well as a Musical Fidelity DAC.  Speaker too have a break-in that I've perceived - becoming more fluid, even and dynamic with more hours on but varying by speaker type and design.

Have you noticed any improvement with cables, especially speaker cables?

[SoundGame]

Have you noticed any improvement with cables, especially speaker cables?

Not with speaker cables but with interconnects to some degree.  Funny, I've notice differences in the sound of different speaker cables but not any difference due to break-in.

[DaveNote]

Not with speaker cables but with interconnects to some degree.  Funny, I've notice differences in the sound of different speaker cables but not any difference due to break-in.

Thanks. I've never noticed break-in differences in cables of any kind, which just may be me. But to add to the referenced article above that manufacturers are all over the map, I've had this experience in the past few days. I bought Transparent entry level speaker cables (The Wave). The company's website does not say outright that these cables need to be broken in, but that after a couple of days they "relax." I don't know what that means. I spoke to one of the company's tech support people, who told me they need 100 hours of break-in.

[62Truck]

Yes, Bryston does burn in their amplifiers as part of their quality assurance testing and I can say that I didn't experience any noteworthy improvements in Bryston components over the first few hundred hours.  On a related note, their amplifiers do tend to sound their best when warmed up - 30 to 45 minutes seems to work for my 4B.

My experience with burn-in improvements has been most noticeable with a pair of earphones from Paradigm - the e3m as well as a Musical Fidelity DAC.  Speaker too have a break-in that I've perceived - becoming more fluid, even and dynamic with more hours on but varying by speaker type and design.

I definitely agree with the bolded statement above.  When I leave my 4B on for days at a time, the clarity and soundstage is much improved over turning on the amp that day.

[Chicago]

Just to play the devil's advocate - Does the equipment require a break in or do our ears require a break in to become accustomed to the new equipment and a little different sound?

[SoundGame]

Just to play the devil's advocate - Does the equipment require a break in or do our ears require a break in to become accustomed to the new equipment and a little different sound?

I believe it's a bit of both; however, when it sounds absolutely restricted in high-frequency extension, with bloated and ill-defined bass and then after a period of time, changes, in some cases suddenly, and becomes something totally different - then unless you've got hearing or mental issues - I attribute it to break-in.

[SoundGame]

Thanks. I've never noticed break-in differences in cables of any kind, which just may be me. But to add to the referenced article above that manufacturers are all over the map, I've had this experience in the past few days. I bought Transparent entry level speaker cables (The Wave). The company's website does not say outright that these cables need to be broken in, but that after a couple of days they "relax." I don't know what that means. I spoke to one of the company's tech support people, who told me they need 100 hours of break-in.

Dave - by "relax" I would assume they mean that there is less spot-lighting / un-natural emphasis on sonic detail (etching on notes / hard edges) and more of a natural liquid integration of detail into the overal music.  Some would say this would be a move to a more musical rather than clinical sound.

[DaveNote]

Dave - by "relax" I would assume they mean that there is less spot-lighting / un-natural emphasis on sonic detail (etching on notes / hard edges) and more of a natural liquid integration of detail into the overal music.  Some would say this would be a move to a more musical rather than clinical sound.

Thanks, again. I hope you're right. My speakers could use some rounding of hard edges, which is why I bought the Transparent cables.

[SoundGame]

Thanks, again. I hope you're right. My speakers could use some rounding of hard edges, which is why I bought the Transparent cables.

Oh don't get me wrong, the transparent cables might soften up in sonics after break-in but not to the degree that they will become a "soft" sounding cable.  If you're looking for something to compensate for some aggressiveness in the treble, you may want to look into Cardas or VandenHul, both of which are very smooth and polite in the top end and to some degree a little darker than what a true "neutral" cable might impart.

[62Truck]

Oh don't get me wrong, the transparent cables might soften up in sonics after break-in but not to the degree that they will become a "soft" sounding cable.  If you're looking for something to compensate for some aggressiveness in the treble, you may want to look into Cardas or VandenHul, both of which are very smooth and polite in the top end and to some degree a little darker than what a true "neutral" cable might impart.

SoundGame, good to know.  Thanks for learnin' me that; I didn't know.

[DaveNote]

Oh don't get me wrong, the transparent cables might soften up in sonics after break-in but not to the degree that they will become a "soft" sounding cable.  If you're looking for something to compensate for some aggressiveness in the treble, you may want to look into Cardas or VandenHul, both of which are very smooth and polite in the top end and to some degree a little darker than what a true "neutral" cable might impart.

I wasn't looking for a cable that changes the basic qualities of my speakers, which you may have read about on a thread a started a few weeks ago - the Axiom M80s. My only problem with them, as I think I mentioned on that thread, has been a kind of raspy sound on some tracks.

i decided to drive the speakers via the pre-out connections of a new Marantz 4023 receiver into my 7BSST2 amps, single-ended. I added inexpensive Energy subwoofer cables for these connections. These cables have an kind of RF filter on them. I didn't buy them for that reason and assumed it was a gimmick. But much to my surprise, the raspy sound, while still there, was somewhat diminished. I concluded that maybe the gimmick acutally wasn't one after all, and that I might have an RF issue in my system. So I decided to try the Transparent speaker cables which have a device on them to filter RF while changing nothing, or at least that is the claim. Anyway, broken in or not, these cables have helped to diminish the raspy sound enough that it now sounds like some kind of an artifact in the recording (echo? reverb fade?) I'm not sure, but nevertheless, the thing that was irritating me is much improved. A good example of the change can be heard with the opening passages of "So What" on The Kind of Blue albumn, where Adderley and Coltrane play in unison. What was very harsh is now, as you say, more musical.

[Elizabeth]

Different items need time or not, it varies.
The worst sounding item i ever tried was a new pair of Kimber Hero 7 meter long balance interconnects.
They were horrible when first connected. (Bryston BP-26 to Bryston 4B-SST2)
It took them a week to sound decent. and now they  are just fine.
I almost took them back, but I thought 'well they are really long.. i will give then some time..' and now glad i did.

Another item which took a very long time to sound good were my Sennheiser HD800 earphones.
I bouught a used Rudistor RPX33mk2 headamp and the combo sounded bad.
I thought it was the headamp, and stuck it on a shelf for nearly a year. i decided to try it again or sell it, and was very happy to hear great sound, which i then realized was the headphones had not broken in the first time, but the second time the phones were good, and thus the combo was great.
Lucky i did not sell the Rudistor right off at a big loss.

So some stuff really does need a break in. other stuff not nearly as much.

[JfTM]

Different items need time or not, it varies.
The worst sounding item i ever tried was a new pair of Kimber Hero 7 meter long balance interconnects.
They were horrible when first connected. (Bryston BP-26 to Bryston 4B-SST2)
It took them a week to sound decent. and now they  are just fine.
I almost took them back, but I thought 'well they are really long.. i will give then some time..' and now glad i did.

Is cable break in length dependent?   

 

[SoundGame]

I wasn't looking for a cable that changes the basic qualities of my speakers, which you may have read about on a thread a started a few weeks ago - the Axiom M80s. My only problem with them, as I think I mentioned on that thread, has been a kind of raspy sound on some tracks.

i decided to drive the speakers via the pre-out connections of a new Marantz 4023 receiver into my 7BSST2 amps, single-ended. I added inexpensive Energy subwoofer cables for these connections. These cables have an kind of RF filter on them. I didn't buy them for that reason and assumed it was a gimmick. But much to my surprise, the raspy sound, while still there, was somewhat diminished. I concluded that maybe the gimmick acutally wasn't one after all, and that I might have an RF issue in my system. So I decided to try the Transparent speaker cables which have a device on them to filter RF while changing nothing, or at least that is the claim. Anyway, broken in or not, these cables have helped to diminish the raspy sound enough that it now sounds like some kind of an artifact in the recording (echo? reverb fade?) I'm not sure, but nevertheless, the thing that was irritating me is much improved. A good example of the change can be heard with the opening passages of "So What" on The Kind of Blue albumn, where Adderley and Coltrane play in unison. What was very harsh is now, as you say, more musical.

Perhaps the Transparent cables are providing more resolution rather than distorting that musical signal or on the other hand, perhaps it is an issue inherent in the recording that is made more evident by your higher resolving Bryston preamp vs. the lower resolution Marantz.  I have a very hard time with believing the Marantz would ever exceed the transparency and low distortion of a Bryston preamp.  What were you hoping to achieve with employing the Marantz?

[DaveNote]

Perhaps the Transparent cables are providing more resolution rather than distorting that musical signal or on the other hand, perhaps it is an issue inherent in the recording that is made more evident by your higher resolving Bryston preamp vs. the lower resolution Marantz.  I have a very hard time with believing the Marantz would ever exceed the transparency and low distortion of a Bryston preamp.  What were you hoping to achieve with employing the Marantz?

The rasp on the M80s has occurred with the Marantz and another receiver (HK 3490), and the Bryston preamp. No doubt that the Bryston preamp is better than either one. I use the receivers as part of a second system. However, these days I use the Marantz because I don't have a remote on the Bryston, and the receiver is well within reach and has a remote - I'm very lazy.

There is no doubt that the M80s are high resolution speakers. That's probably why Bryston is working with Axiom in designing and building its new speakers. And I think you may be right that these cables are helping to change what has sounded like a noise into something more recognizable or even musical.