Excellent method Dodgealum. That is exactly what I did with X-01 break in. CDp on repeat and an old linestage turned on with moderate gain. I kept amps on standby. This resulted in a barely perceivable reedy sound from the speakers. Every 150 hrs or so I turned on the system fully for some listening. At 800 hrs or so progress seems to slow down, but the real magic comes in a little after 1100 hrs. Seems Esoteric players equipped with Burr Brown 1704 chips take a long time to break in. I have heard that Esoteric players equipped with Analog Devices chips like P03/d03 combo are much faster. I have no info on break in time for TEAC players using AKM or Crystal Semiconductor DAC chips.
CD Player break in period
Guys, I'm not looking to start a debate on break in periods, if it's real, a myth, etc.
I have purchased a new Esoteric X-03 SE SACD player on 12/26/07 along with new Tara Labs The One (w/ISM) balanced interconnects. I let the player warm to room temperature as it was stone cold when I opened the box, evidence that it was either in an unheated warehouse or truck for a while-confirmed by my dealer. After a half a day, I hooked it up and the sound was incredibly poor. Very hard sounding, harsh mids and highs, narrow soundstage, no impact to bass, no definition. I am now on hour 674 and it's almost there. Soundstage opened up, detail is awesome, everything is, as I said almost there, but I still have a bit of a sting on female vocals. I have done an extensive amount of research and although Esoteric's website says break in should be 250 hours, I have found some information stating it would take 800 to 1,000 hours to sound excellent, with it still improving there after.
Again, I am not looking for responses disputing break in, that this is a fantasy and it must be some other culprit in my system (my dealer prchased the same player on the same day (same shippment) and he is experiencing the same).
I would love to hear about other members experience with equipment requiring a rather extensive break in period.
I appreciate your input.
I have purchased a new Esoteric X-03 SE SACD player on 12/26/07 along with new Tara Labs The One (w/ISM) balanced interconnects. I let the player warm to room temperature as it was stone cold when I opened the box, evidence that it was either in an unheated warehouse or truck for a while-confirmed by my dealer. After a half a day, I hooked it up and the sound was incredibly poor. Very hard sounding, harsh mids and highs, narrow soundstage, no impact to bass, no definition. I am now on hour 674 and it's almost there. Soundstage opened up, detail is awesome, everything is, as I said almost there, but I still have a bit of a sting on female vocals. I have done an extensive amount of research and although Esoteric's website says break in should be 250 hours, I have found some information stating it would take 800 to 1,000 hours to sound excellent, with it still improving there after.
Again, I am not looking for responses disputing break in, that this is a fantasy and it must be some other culprit in my system (my dealer prchased the same player on the same day (same shippment) and he is experiencing the same).
I would love to hear about other members experience with equipment requiring a rather extensive break in period.
I appreciate your input.
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- 60 posts total
- 60 posts total