Amp Break-in?

[Walton]

Hi

I've got a new A21 that I'm trying out, and wondered how much difference I should expect after 'burning in'?

To my mind it seems to lack significant resolution compared to my 100wpc Arcam P35 I've been using previously. The midrange sounds less 'precise' but more natural, and the topend seems "cloaked" - One possible reason is the bass is so dominant - way too boomy in the small room I'm temorarily in using floorstanders.

On the plus side, it is more mellow to listen to than my P35, and has a much wider soundstage - It just doesn't seem to have that 'high fidelity' thing.

I'm using RCA unbalanced with

Meridian G07 CD
Arcam C31 Stereo Preamp
Arcam AV8 AV processor
Ruark Prolouge II floorstanders

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Richard

[nopat]

After a proper "burn in" and somewhat halfassed setup on the pre, I noticed a marked improvement in overall extension and resolution. 80 hrs? plus 15-minutes into playtime from cold.

I always thought of my setup as being more "bright" than anything else, and find myself tuning it out to "unwind" some of the top-end. Then again, I have no real basis of comparison, so my comments can be taken with a grain of salt.

[kfr01]

Try room treatment next.

For my system, 6 GIK acoustics panels helped smoothed things out in my long narrow room and took my system to the next level.

[Chris D]

Heya, Richard, welcome to the Guide and Club Parasound! :banana:

Yes, a significant improvement in Halo performance after break-in is well documented, by owners and reviewers. Offhand, I don't think I've ever heard Parasound themselves remark on it officially. Do a search for break-in here in the Club, there are other thread(s) here about it.

[Peter Nielsen]

Yes, a significant improvement in Halo performance after break-in is well documented, by owners and reviewers. Offhand, I don't think I've ever heard Parasound themselves remark on it officially.

Yep. The amps need a minimum of 100 hours. At ~250 hours they are usually fully broken in...

Peter

[Walton]

Thanks everyone.

[mikepinkerton]

Has anyone ever graphed changes in frequency response before and after "break in"? Seems like a myth to me, I like science.

-Mike

[Chris D]

Good question, Mike. I'd be interested in the science answer to it. I was just glad to find out that I wasn't the only one that thought I was hearing improvement in my Halo gear as I used it for the first many, many hours.

[Peter Nielsen]

Has anyone ever graphed changes in frequency response before and after "break in"? Seems like a myth to me, I like science.

Hmm... The difference is not necessarily in frequency response. It's mostly the capacitors that require a very long break-in time. The electrical difference will probably mostly be in "response time" and not in frequency response. I noticed a clear difference in how the JC1 was able to deliver bass transients. A new, out-of-the box unit sounds a bit "harsh" compared to one that has been broken in. (I guess a not-too-out-of-line analogy would be to compare a capacitor with a battery. A battery that is not charged is sluggish compared to a fully charged one. The same goes with capacitors. Even though capacitors do not remain charged like batteries, a brand new capacitor is not at 100% efficiency until it's burned in a few hundred hours).

Peter

[mikepinkerton]

but isn't "harshness" something that can be seen on a graph? It's generally used to describe pronounced highs in the 5 KHz "presence" range. I agree there is a dimension of time and transience that is missing from a 2D graph, but I'm not sure how much can be attributed to the extra dimension.

Not trying to flame...honest!
-Mike